Dubautia plantaginea ssp. humilis, a member of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family, is a dwarfed shrub less than 80 cm (30 in) tall. The stems are hairless or occasionally strigullose (having small straight hairs pressed against the stem). The leaves are opposite, narrow, 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) long, and 0.7 to 4.5 cm (0.3 to 1.8 in) wide. The leaves usually have 5 to 9 nerves, and are hairless or moderately strigullose. The leaf margins are toothed from the apex to near the middle. Between 20 and 90 flowering heads are found in each inflorescence, which is about 20 cm (8 in) long and 28 cm (11 in) wide. Eight to 20 florets (small flower that is part of a dense cluster) are found in each head, borne on a flat receptacle. The bracts on the receptacle (where flower is attached) are about 5 mm (0.2 in) long, sharply toothed, and fused together. The corolla is yellow, and may purple with age. The fruit is an achene (a dry, one-celled, indehiscent fruit) 2.5 to 4 mm (0.08 to 0.2 in) long.