Grewia flavescens has oblanceolate or obovate leaves, three-veined from the base, light green and hairy. The leaves are rough to the touch, almost symmetric with tapering apices and square or rounded bases. The margins are irregularly toothed and there is a petiole with stipules on young leaves, but they drop off early.

The flowers are yellow, a little fragrant and about 2 cm in diameter. The sepals are pinkish green on the outside, yellow on the inside. The petals are shorter than the sepals. Flowers grow in axillary clusters of up to three, appearing in summer into autumn.

The fruits are two-lobed drupes, occasionally four-lobed and hairy. They ripen towards the end of winter (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).