Cyanella alba is a perennial herb, 80–200 mm high, that flowers in spring and early summer and has an annual fibrous corm with concentric layers. The leaves are grass-like in appearance. The flowers are white, pale yellow or pale pink and slightly fragrant. The filaments of the stamens are white, thick, and strong, and the anthers are dark yellow and hard. Upper stamens are the five of six stamens that emerge at roughly right angles to the tepal bases. Their anthers are sometimes fused, arcuate, forming a hood-like structure at the top of the flower. The back of this hood is sometimes marked by five conspicuous black spots, one on each anther connective. The sixth stamen, known as the lower stamen, is declined and nearly parallel to one of the tepals.

Three subspecies are recognized: Cyanella alba L.f. subsp. alba, Cyanella alba L.f. subsp. minor J.C.Manning and Cyanella alba L.f. subsp. flavescens J.C.Manning.

The subspecies alba (Bokkeveld White Lady’s-hand) has white or pale pink flowers with uniformly yellow anthers, on long pedicels up to 200 mm long, and 3 to 9 flowers per plant.

The subspecies minor (Mini or Tanqua White Lady’s-hand) has similar flowers to subspecies alba, but with shorter pedicels, usually less than 100 mm long, and is a smaller plant with only 1 to 3 flowers per plant.

The subspecies flavescens (Yellow or Biedouw White Lady’s-hand) has pale yellow flowers, sometimes the outer tepals are white, and the upper anthers are marked with a black spot near the base.