This species has notably small leaves for this genus. The corolla is described as yellow.

Borhidi et al. (2017) separated 2 subspecies of Schmidtiottia cubensis based on leaf pubescence details and corolla size. The leaves were said to differ in being scabrous vs. smooth above, and the corolla sizes given overlap. The distinctions between these seem to be geographic range, with the typical subspecies found in the Sierra de Nipe and its var. cristalensis found in the Sierra del Cristal.