[2] The genus is named in honour of Francisco Manuel Blanco,[3] a Spanish friar and botanist who compiled the first comprehensive flora of the Philippines.

The pink or red, nodding flowers are about 3 cm (1.2 in) long, with yellowish interiors, and grow in pairs in a few-flowered spike.

[6] After pollination, the flowers fade and wither but remain in place while the fruits develop inside.

[2] It grows in deep sand in Banksia woodland and in kwongan, an open community of scrubby heathland.

[5] This region has a Mediterranean-type climate with cool wet winters and hot dry summers.