It is a small, rigid shrub with many short side-branches, mostly linear leaves and heads of yellow flowers which soon age to reddish but which are among the largest in the genus.

The sepals are lemon-yellow, bright yellow or golden-yellow but quickly age to pinkish-red, reddish-brown or reddish-grey, spreading, 5–6.5 mm (0.20–0.26 in) long, with 10 to 13 densely hairy lobes.

Verticordia grandiflora was first formally described by Stephan Endlicher in 1839 and the description was published in Stirpium Australasicarum Herbarii Hugeliani Decades Tres from specimens collected by John Septimus Roe.

It is widespread in the far south-west corner of the state between Pingelly in the north to Corrigin, Lake King and Ravensthorpe with a disjunct population near Norseman[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee biogeographic regions.

[4] The large flowers of this verticordia, together with their changing colour are attractive features and it has been grown in gardens including those in eastern Australia, although it has a tendency to be attacked by fungal diseases.