Antennaria dioica is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 10–20 cm tall, with a rosette of basal spoon-shaped leaves 4 cm long, and 1 cm broad at their broadest near the apex; and smaller leaves arranged spirally up the flowering stems. The flowers are produced in capitula (flowerheads) 6–12 mm diameter with pale pink ray florets and darker pink disc florets.
It is an acid-sensitive species of low fertility soils with a pH of between 4.5 and 6, associated with calcareous grassland, maritime heath, dune slacks and mine waste in the lowlands, and well-drained basic to acid grasslands, dwarf- shrub heath, mountain slopes, rock ledges and summit heaths in the uplands.
