Elatostema rugosum is a perennial herb that spreads via a fleshy horizontal stem (rhizome), which intermittently produces numerous upright branches with leaves that range from brown to green to reddish. Both stems and leaves have a very rough, bristly, and wrinkled surface, but they lack stinging hairs. Very small flowers are densely arranged on fleshy pads (glomerules) at the base of the leaves. The genus includes around 350 species, occurring in Africa, Asia, and Australasia.