Dubautia herbstobatae is a small, spreading shrub reaching heights up to 50 centimeters. The stems are brown, woody near the growing points, and primarily glabrous except for ciliolate features at leaf scars. The leaves are arranged oppositely or occasionally in threes (ternate), with a lustrous or shiny upper surface. They are narrowly elliptic, ranging from 2 to 5.5 cm in length and 0.3 to 1.1 cm in width, typically 1-nerved or sometimes obscurely 3-nerved. The leaves are glabrous or near glabrous, with entire margins or very shallowly 1-3-toothed above the middle. These leaves are eciliate, with a narrowly acute apex and a sessile or briefly attenuate base. It features 5-15 heads, often arranged ternately or paired along a terminal central axis or in simple, lax, paniculate inflorescences measuring 3-9 cm in length and 2.5-7.5 cm in width. Peduncles are slender, hispidulous-tomentose, with the lower ultimate ones usually ranging from 1-4 cm long and the upper ones reduced to about 0.2 cm. The receptacle is flat to low and broadly conical. The false involucre consists of 4-11 peripheral, strongly connate receptacular bracts measuring 5-9 mm long, grayish silky pubescent. Florets number 4-20 per head, featuring yellowish-orange corollas 3-5 mm long, generally glabrous and eglandular or with a few inconspicuous hairs on the tubular portion. The pappus consists of usually 16-20 very narrowly linear, ascending-setose bristles approximately 4-5.5 mm long. The achenes are 4-6 mm long, grayish silky pubescent. It is typically found on rock outcrops on north-facing ridges in dry to mesic shrublands between 580 – 910 meters.