In the family Myrtaceae the genera Homoranthus and Darwinia are closely related. Homoranthus includes about 19 species and one of them, H. flavescens , is found in northern New South Wales from the coast to the western plains. The foliage of this plant is unusual and distinctive. Silver to blue-grey leaves are crowded on the upper side of the spreading horizontal branches.
Some forms also have an attractive reddish tinge to the foliage.
Branching occurs freely towards the end of the stems. This provides overlapping layers of foliage both at the centre and at the extremities of the plant. The result is a shrub of symmetrical form and a spreading, almost semi-prostrate, habit. During winter, flower buds develop in the leaf axils near the ends of the branches. Flowering occurs in late spring and summer, usually between November and February.