Leucosidea has only one species. The leucosidea is often a straggly shrub or a dense small evergreen tree which grows up to 7 m tall to 5 m wide. It is single or multi-stemmed and branches low down. The bark is rough reddish brown in colour and flakes off to reveal a smooth light brown under-bark. The leaves are alternately arranged compound and covered with silky silver hairs. The flowers are greenish-yellow in colour star-shaped and grow in spikes at the ends of young shoots in spring. The fruits are nut-like. Leucosidea can be found above an elevation of 1006 m in the highlands of South Africa as well as in Lesotho and rarely in Swaziland and Zimbabwe.