Hibiscadelphus woodii, a member of the Malvaceae (mallow) family, is a small, branched tree 2.5 to 5 m (8.2 to 16.4 ft) tall with a rounded crown. The leaves have stalks 2.8 to 5.8 cm (1.1 to 2.3 in) long, with star-shaped hairs when young, which are mostly lost as the leaf matures. Awl-shaped stipules, also covered with star-shaped hairs, are found at the base of the leaf stalk. The leaf blade is ovate, 7 to 9 cm (2.6 to 3.5 in) long, and 6.5 to 8.4 cm (2.6 to 3.3 in) wide. Star-shaped hairs are scattered along the veins of the leaves. The leaf margins are irregularly and coarsely toothed with the teeth either pointed or rounded. Flowers are borne individually on stalks 1.4 to 2.1 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) long with star-shaped hairs. Below each flower are four to six bracts (leaf-like appendages) 11 to 15 mm (0.4 to 0.6 in) long and 1.8 to 4 mm (0.07 to 0.16 in) wide. The calyx is tubular, 1.3 to 1.5 cm (0.5 to 0.6 in) long, green, shallowly lobed, and moderately covered with star-shaped hairs. The corolla is 4.5 to 4.7 cm (1.8 to 1.9 in) long, yellow with a coppery tinge when fresh, which rapidly turns purplish-maroon. The staminal column extends about 7 mm (0.3 in) beyond the lobes of the corolla.