Hesperomannia lydgatei, a member of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family, is a sparsely branched, small, long-lived perennial tree 2 to 4 m (6.5 to 13 ft) tall with alternate lance-shaped or elliptic leaves 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) long and 3.5 to 9 cm (1.4 to 3.5 in) wide, broader above the middle and paler beneath. The flower heads are in groups of 4 or 5 on slender stems and are clustered at the ends of branches and pendant (hanging) when mature. The flower heads consist of 4 to 8 circles of overlapping bracts (leaflike structures at base of flower), the outer are purplish or brownish and the inner are silver, that surround the slender, tubular yellow florets, 2.3 to 2.5 cm (0.9 to 1 in) long.