Queensland from the east coast of Cape York Peninsula south to Ingham. Also occurs on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. Scrub beefwood, white oak, brown silky oak. Grevillea baileyana is a medium to large tree, usually to about 10 metres but occasionally to 30 metres high. Bark is grey, hard and sometimes scaly.
Leaves are rich green with the underside of the new growth having a rusty or bronze sheen.
This is a particularly useful diagnostic point in the growing period. Juvenile leaves have 5-9 broad lobes but adult leaves are simple, glabrous above and finely silky beneath. Flowers are borne in tight, clustered racemes and have a strong nectar perfume which attracts myriad insects to the flower heads. The flowering period is from late spring through summer. Although it is naturally found in rainforest, G.baileyana is very hardy when established and has been successfully grown in a wide range of soils and climates.