Berkheya barbata is perennial and can grow up to 60 cm tall, although it is often much smaller. Plants produce multiple stems from a woody underground stem to form densely entangled shrubs, or scramble over rocks and other vegetation. Young leaves and stems are covered by a cotton-like layer of soft white hairs, which rubs off as the parts mature. Leaves are arranged in pairs, up to 60 mm long and 25 mm wide, bright green and glossy above and with a white dense hairy cover below. Leaf margins have 4-9 pairs of spines as well as one spine on the leaf tip.

Single flower heads are borne on unbranched stems, about 100-150 mm long. Heads are often as large as the palm of a hand (up to 100 mm across) and have an outer ring of bright yellow to orange-yellow ray flowers with matching coloured disc flowers in the centre. Heads are supported by several rows of spiny bracts similar to the leaves. These bracts are persistent and form a hard protective cover for the seeds at the end of the flowering period. Plants flower from October to January.