A low or sprawling subshrub, sometimes climbing up surrounding vegetation, up to 1.2m high; densely divaricately branched; young stems are tinged red. Leaves are unifoliate, elliptic to oblong or obovate, leaf apex acute to acuminate, leaf margins markedly toothed with 1-33 recurved teeth; stipules 2.2-10.9 mm long. Flowers solitary or clustered together in axils. Male flowers: stamens 10-16; filaments 3.5-4.4 mm long, red; anthers brownish red or yellow. Female flowers: stigma 1.8-3.4 mm long, red to greenish-white, feathery, hidden at base of leaves. Achene whitish to pale brown, glabrous and 12-ribbed.

Latin: ferruginea = rusty coloured, referring to the stems and stipules, which are brown and papery.