It has glossy green leaves and white daisy flowers with dark purple centres.

Its preferred habitats are upland cushion bogs and Pleurophyllum-dominated herbfields.

It also grows at lower elevations in exposed and sparsely vegetated sites.

[10] In 2012, David Given separated C. vernicosa from Celmisia and from related genera on the basis of its morphology, and allocated it to the new genus, Damnamenia.

[10] The species is listed as "At Risk – Naturally Uncommon" on the most recent (2018) New Zealand Threatened Classification for plants, because of its restricted range).