Dubautia kalalauensis is an upright shrub that grows between 1.8 and 3.5 meters tall. The stems are strigose with arcuate or flexuous trichomes, dark purple or black distally, and become glabrescent and pale brown proximally. The leaves are simple, opposite, and sessile, with elliptic or oblanceolate blades. The apex is acuminate, and the base is attenuate or petioloid. The margins can be ciliate, eciliolate, or serrate/dentate. The flowers are in dense, corymbiform arrays (4–10 cm long and 4–10 cm wide), with discoid heads and number between 15 to 55. The stalks and peduncles are densely hispid-hirsute and eglandular, with peduncles measuring 0–7 mm long. The receptacles are glabrous, flat, or convex, with cylindrical false involucres to narrowly campanulate. Receptacular bracts number between 8 to 16 and are linear to linear-lanceolate, free, or coalescent to 1/3 of their length proximally, the outermost being 4.5–6 mm long, usually green, sometimes purplish, and strigose. The florets number 8 to 16, with corollas that are exserted, greenish cream aging to pinkish or reddish brown (often drying dark purple), 3–5.5 mm long, and usually slightly exceeding the pappi. The tubes and throats are arcuate or recurved, glabrous or sparsely glandular proximally, moderately glandular distally, throats abruptly dilated distally, with lobes that are narrowly triangular, usually reflexed, and 0.8–1 mm long, sparsely setulose abaxially. The anthers are reddish-purple or maroon. The fruit is a simple, dry achene (cypsela), black, straight, or arcuate, about 5.5 – 7 mm long (including the pappus), and strigose. The pappi comprise 19 to 24 stramineous to brown or reddish purple, mostly subequal, fimbriate, setiform scales approximately 4 mm long. It is found on densely vegetated, windward slopes and stream sides in wet forests between 1205 – 1235 meters.