Leucadendron tinctum is a colourful, spreading shrub with large - smooth leaves. The female plant produces conspicuous red cones and rose-red bracts. The foliage on the flowering stems is also tinged red; the male plant is much less colourful. The plants flower from mid-winter to spring. Cones have a spicy smell and their shiny glabrous bracts are recurved. The fruiting body opens after four months and the seed falls to the ground.