Kokia kauaiensis, a member of the Malvaceae (mallow; hibiscus) family, is a small tree 5 to 10 m (16 to 33 ft) tall. The seven- or nine-lobed, circular leaves are 12 to 25 cm (5 to 10 in) wide with a heart-shaped base. The solitary, brick-red flowers are clustered near the ends of the branches on stout flower stalks 3 to 9 cm (1.2 to 3.5 in) long. The broadly egg-shaped floral bracts (leaf-like appendages at base of flower) are 4 to 6 cm (1.5 to 2.4 in) long and hairless except toward the base, which has a sparse covering of long, soft hairs. The curved petals, 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) long, are twisted at the base and densely covered with yellowish, silky hairs. The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule. The egg-shaped seeds are 10 to 12 mm (0.4 to 0.5 in) long and densely covered with reddish, woolly hairs up to 10 mm (0.4 in) long.