In a collection made by NTBG (2011), C. nanawaleensis is described as being 0.5 to 1.5 m (1.6 to 5 ft) tall, sparingly branched, sprawling on the ground, the calyx asymmetrical, the flowers 1 to 4 per cyme, and the leaves opposite. A collection made described by Smithsonian (2013) states that C. nanawaleensis is 1 m (3 ft) tall with a 1.3 cm (0.5 in) basal diameter; no other details were included. The leaves of C. nanawaleensis are opposite and hirtellous (pubescent with rather coarse or stiff, often bent curved hairs) that are 2 to 5 mm (0.08 to 0.2 in) long. The cymes (flat-topped inflorescence in which the central flowers open first followed by the peripheral flowers) are 2 cm (0.8 in) long and hirtellous with at least three flowers. The pedicels (the stalk of a single flower in an inflorescence) are 5 to 8 mm (2 to 3 in long). The calyx (all of the sepals of the flower) is 7 mm (0.3 in) long with hirtellous lobes, and 4 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) long. The corolla (all the petals of the flower) is 13 mm (0.5 in) long and hirtellous.