Gomphocarpus physocarpus is an upright, soft shrub 0.5 to 2 m tall with a fibrous rootstock. Branches arise above a small, single-stemmed trunk. The branches are pale yellowish green and hollow. The leaves are light green, opposite, and narrowly oblong to lance-shaped. Cream to white flowers in pendulous clusters are borne almost throughout the year but mainly during summer (November to April). The flowers are attractive and have a complicated structure. The petals bend strongly backwards, arching over the flower. In the centre of the flower is the corona, consisting of five pouched lobes that develop from the petals. The petals are white and the corona is suffused with pink or purple.
