Cyanea hirtella is a species of shrub that grows 1.5–6 meters tall and is characterized by its tan latex. The stems are sub-herbaceous, woody at the base, and either unbranched or sparingly branched, covered with pubescence. The leaves are simple and alternate, with elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate, or oblong blades that range from 10 to 37 cm in length and 2 to 13 cm in width. The leaf apex is acuminate, while the base ranges from attenuate to obtuse. The upper surface of the leaf is green and can be either glabrous or sparsely pubescent, while the lower surface is whitish green and pubescent, particularly along the midrib and veins. Leaf margins are minutely callose-denticulate to callose-serrulate, and the petioles are 1–8 cm long. The inflorescences comprise 5–16 flowers, with peduncles measuring 5–40 mm long and pedicels 3–15 mm long. The flowers are bisexual (perfect), featuring an obovoid to obconical hypanthium 4–11 mm long and 4–8 mm wide and covered in pubescence. The calyx has narrowly triangular lobes, 1–5 mm long and 0.5–2 mm wide, with acuminate or acute tips. The corolla, ranging from white to pale purplish with purple longitudinal stripes, is 20–48 mm long and 3–5 mm wide and varies from subglabrous to densely pubescent. The corolla tube is suberect or curved, with lobes spreading to ⅓–½ the length of the tube. The stamens, five in number, alternate with the corolla lobes and form a connate column that can be either glabrous or pubescent at the base. The anthers are minutely papillose and sometimes sparsely pubescent, with the lower two bearing apical tufts of white hairs. The ovary is inferior, two-celled, with axile placentation. The stigma is two-lobed and undergoes a process where it is initially appressed and nonreceptive, eventually spreading apart to become receptive after the style grows through the anther tube. The fruit is a yellow to orange berry that is globose, ellipsoid, or obovoid and measures 10–20 mm in length and 6–10 mm in width. The seeds within the berry are numerous. It occurs in diverse mesic forests and is found at elevations ranging from 200-1,520 meters.