Archidendron vaillantii is a tree growing up to 25 m (82 ft) high and a DBH up to 30 cm (12 in).[5][6] The large evenly bipinnate leaves are around 60 cm (24 in) wide and long with usually 2 pairs of leaflets or pinnae, which in turn are further divided into 2-4 pairs of subleaflets or pinnules (see Gallery). The subleaflets are dark glossy green, elliptic to orbicular and slightly asymmetric, measuring up to 20 by 11 cm (7.9 by 4.3 in), and have very short petioles.[5][6]
The fruit is a twisted or tightly coiled dehiscentpod, red on the outside and yellow inside, up to 135 mm (5.3 in) long by 15 mm (0.59 in) wide, containing a number of glossy black seeds about 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long.[6][7]
The taxon was reviewed twice more — first by Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze in 1891, giving it the combination Affonsea vailantii, and then by Alfred James Ewart in 1907 who described a subspeciesAlbizia vaillantii var. pentzkeana, however neither of these names are now accepted.[4]
The salmon bean is restricted to the coastal area from about Rossville south to the Paluma Range National Park. It grows in rainforest on various soils at altitudes from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[5][6][7]