Brachyscome are annual and perennial herbs and small shrubs. Species have a basal rosette of leaves and/or leaves alternately arranged on the stem. The blades are entire or divided. The flower heads are solitary or borne in small corymbs. The head has a row of ray florets in shades of white, blue, pink, or mauve, and yellow disc florets. These achenes or cypselas are roughly club-shaped but usually incurved and flattened. They often have a membranous rim or wing around the edge that is sometimes wavy or fringed. There are between 65 and 80 species in the genus. Most are endemic to Australia, and a few occur in New Zealand and New Guinea.