Cyanea acuminata, a member of the bellflower family (Campanulaceae), is an unbranched shrub 0.3 to 2 m (1 to 6.6 ft) tall. The leaves, 11 to 32 cm (4.3 to 12.6 in.) long and 3 to 9 cm (1.2 to 3.5 in.) wide, are inversely lance-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped or elliptic. The upper leaf surface is green, whereas the lower surface is whitish green. The slightly hardened leaf edges contain small, spreading, pointed teeth. The leaf stalks are 2 to 10 cm (0.8 to 4 in.) long. Six to 20 flowers are arranged on a flowering stalk 15 to 60 mm (0.6 to 2.4 in.) long. The calyx lobes, 2 to 5 mm (0.08 to 0.2 in.) long, are narrowly triangular. The corolla is white and sometimes tinged purplish, 30 to 35 mm (1.2 to 1.4 in.) long and 3 to 4 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in.) wide. The tubular portion of the flower is almost erect to slightly curved, while the lobes are one-fourth to one-third as long as the tube and spreading. The yellow to yellowish orange, round berries are approximately 5 mm (0.2 in.) long.