Hesperomannia arborescens is a small shrubby tree of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family that stands 1.5 to 5 m (5 to 16 ft) tall. Its typically hairless leaves, 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) long and 3 to 8 cm (1 to 3 in) wide, range from oval to lance-shaped and are about two to four times as long as they are wide. The flower heads, which are about 6 cm (2.4 in) long, are either erect or ascending, and grow singly or in clusters of 2 to 10. They grow on thick fuzzy stalks 4 to 15 mm (0.2 to 0.6 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) in diameter. The involucre (set of bracts) that surrounds each flower head is between 2 and 3.5 cm (0.8 and 1.4 in) high, the longest individual bracts growing to 2.8 cm (1.1 in). The yellow to yellowish brown florets that comprise each head are about 2.4 to 3 cm (0.9 to 1.2 in) long and develop into 1.3 cm (0.5 in) long achenes (dry, one-seeded fruits) topped with yellowish brown or purple-tinged bristles.