Schiedea sarmentosa, a member of the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), is a many-branched shrub 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) tall. The opposite leaves are slender and threadlike, 1.5 to 4.5 cm (0.6 to 1.8 in) long, and 0.5 to 1.5 mm (0.01 to 0.05 in) wide. The leaves are covered with dense, glandular hairs. There may be as many as 40 to 60 inflorescences on one plant, often with 50 to 100 flowers in each inflorescence. The flowers are female on some plants and bisexual on others. The green sepals are egg-shaped, 2 to 3 mm (0.07 to 0.12 in) long, and somewhat hairy. The staminodes (false stamens) are half as long as the sepals and two-branched at the tip. The fruits are oval capsules. This species differs from others in this endemic Hawaiian genus by its densely bushy habit, leaf width, hairiness, and staminode length.