Plants 25-40cm high. Corm has fibrous tunics and is deep-seated. Leaves are linear to lanceolate, hairless to finely hairy. Flowers are in a branched raceme on spreading pedicels, blue to mauve, rarely white, violet scented with 5 upper stamens and one larger lower.

Flowers of all Cyanella species are buzz pollinated by large solitary bees, this a system of pollination in which the pollen is not released passively, but is retained within the anthers and only released through small apical pores when the anthers are vibrated or manipulated by the pollinator solitary bees,

Greek: cyaneus = greenish-blue; referring to the flower colour and greyish-green appearance of the plant of this species.