This species is characterized by its coriaceous elliptic leaves, paired axillary inflorescences borne below the stem apex, slender peduncles and rather ahort primary axes, flowers that are subsessile to shorly pedicellate and subtended by developed bracts and involucels, calyx limb with rather narrowly triangular lobes, red corollas with tubes 15-21 mm long and the lobes reflexed, 7-8-locular ovaries and fruits, and winged pyrenes. The leaves are obtuse at the apex, and whitened on the lower surface by densely canescent venation that covers the areoles between the raised veins. The involucels have two broad sections with 1-several short lobes. These involucels are persistent on the fruits.

Retiniphyllum francoanum is distinctive in its leaves, axillary inflorescences, and narrow calyx lobes. It is similar in these features to Retiniphyllum secundflorum, which is found further east and differs in its longer inflorescences and bracts, longer corolla lobes, 5-6-locular ovaries and fruits, and ridged pyrenes.