This species is characterized by its medium-sized narrowly elliptic leaves, rather short 5-9-flowered inflorescences, short dentate involucels, shortly pedicellate flowers, short lobed calyx limbs, and white corollas with tubes 6-7 mm long. The leaves are obtuse to rounded at the apices. The inflorescences have a short primary axis. Retiniphyllum caractae is confidently known from only two collections.

Retiniphyllum catactae is similar to Retiniphyllum pauciflorum, which lacks a developed primary axis and has longer red corollas.