A soft shrub reaching 1-1.5m in height. Produces a profusion of mauve to deep pink flowers in mid-summer (January to March). Codd (1985: 191) describes the flowers of S. latidens as being borne in a dense terminal panicle up to 200 mm long, with verticels usually six-flowered, 4-8 mm apart, with bracts up to 5 mm long and slightly longer than wide. The corolla tube is up to 25mm long, gradually widening to about 6 mm at the mouth, with the lower lip protruding 3-5 mm.

Petiole very short, less than 10 mm, leaves open ovate to broadly ovate, 30-50 mm long, and 20-35 mm wide, opposite, with a prominent main vein and small lateral veins; margin entire at the base but crenate to broadly dentate towards the apex.