Faramea spathacea is characterized by its medium-sized, elliptic to oblanceolate leaf blades 7–13 x 2–4 cm with weak to developed, undulating submarginal veins; stipules with the sheath 1–2 mm long and aristas 1.5–3 mm long; terminal and axillary, few-flowered inflorescences, with one or two peduncles 2–4 mm long that each bear one to three pedicels 10–30 mm long; truncate calyx limbs 6–11 mm long; salverform, white corollas with a tube 15–20 mm long and the lobes 13–20 mm long; and oblate to subglobose fruits 8–9 x 10–13 mm that are not laterally flattened. The flower color is not clearly documented, but probably is white.
Faramea spathacea was circumscribed broadly by Taylor in various works, based on annotations by several authors on herbarium specmiens, but more study now shows that Faramea spathacea is restricted to Venezuela and the remaining plants belong to several other species. These are here separated in Faramea pauciflora, Faramea grayumiana, Faramea fosteri, and provisionally, Faramea pseudospathacea (Taylor & Jardim 2020). Steyermark (1967) separated on specimen from Ocaña in Norte de Santander, Colombia that had been included in Faramea spathacea by Standley, Schlim 531, as Faramea pseudospathacea based on its smaller corollas, with tubes ca. 13 mm vs. 17-20 mm long in Faramea spathacea, "subacute" corolla lobes vs. "subulate-attenuate", and leaves mostly smaller. These species are provisionally separated here but Faramea spathacea is now documented as more variable morphologically than Steyermark knew, and these may not be distinct.