Most members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), to which it belongs, are tropical, but R. australis, like other species of Roscoea, grows in much colder mountainous regions.

When growth begins again, "pseudostems" are produced: structures which resemble stems but are actually formed from the tightly wrapped bases (sheaths) of its leaves.

[5] The type specimen was collected in 1956 by Frank Kingdon-Ward from Nat Ma Taung (Mt Victoria) at 2,800 m (9,200 ft) and is held at Kew.

The unusual mountainous distribution of Roscoea may have evolved relatively recently in response to the uplift taking place in the region in the last 50 million years or so due to the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates.

The two clades correspond to a geographical separation, their main distributions being divided by the Brahmaputra River as it flows south at the end of the Himalayan mountain chain.

It differs from both in possessing a corolla tube which protrudes considerably from the sheathing leaves; in addition, it has a broader upper petal lobe than R. tibetica and smaller flowers than R.

[3] Only seedlings were being grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew when Richard Wilford wrote an account of the cultivation of the genus, saying that Roscoea species generally require a relatively sunny position with moisture-retaining but well-drained soil.