Helichrysum setosum, the yellow everlasting, presents yellow flowerheads at stem tips above its bright green to yellow green foliage. The erect stems become hardened and brittle as they thicken, but only woody at the base. Stems branch repeatedly, lending a bushy appearance to the plant. These stems are densely covered in elliptic, oblong or ovate leaves. The leaves are stalkless, lobed at the base in heart-shaped fashion and tapering a little to their tips. The leaf margins are entire and wavy. Leaves are covered in short glandular hairs that exude both strong fragrance and notable stickiness. Young leaves may be cobwebby all over.

Flowerheads have yellow involucral bracts around the flat central discs, radiating out like mini-sunflowers. The habitat is upper slopes and exposed, rocky patches in hilly grassland (Van Wyk and Malan, 1997).