Cyrtandra kaulantha, a member of the Gesneriaceae (African violet) family, is a shrub with several l to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) long stems arising from a horizontal stem. The opposite leaves (with each succeeding pair set at right angles to the previous pair) are clustered on the upper 3 to 6 nodes. Leaves are fleshy, drying to thin and chartaceous (papery) and are oblanceolate (broadest point above the middle and tapering to the base) to elliptic-oblanceolate, 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) long, 12 to 24 cm (5 to 9.4 in) wide. The upper surface is sparsely pilose (with long straight hairs) along veins and with a few scattered hairs over surface, and the lower surface hairs are sparsely appressed (pressed flat) short-pilose. Leaf margins are serrulate (small toothed), tapering gradually to attach directly to the base. Flowers are 7 to 30 in dense compound cymes (terminal flower blooms first) arising on lower third of the erect stems, usually at the stem base, and are moderately appressed dark brown pilose throughout. The flower corolla is white, with a narrowly funnelform tube, curved, l7 to 22 mm (0.7 to 0. 9 in) long, about 4 mm (0.15 in) in diameter medially, glabrous externally and hairy within. Berries are white, ovoid-ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid, 1.4 to 1.8 cm (0.5 to 0.7 in) long.