It is climber or scrambler with lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers with more than thirty stamens arranged around between three and seven glabrous carpels.

[3] The flowers have been reported as having an unpleasant odour[5] variously described as similar to mothballs[6] or animal urine[7] or sweet but with "a pronounced faecal element".

[7] Snake vine was first formally described in 1799 by German botanist Carl Willdenow who gave it the name Dillenia scandens in Species Plantarum.

[8][9] In 1805, Swedish botanist Jonas Dryander transferred the species into the genus Hibbertia as H. scandens in the Annals of Botany.

[16][17] This species is common in cultivation and adapts to a wide range of growing conditions, including where it is exposed to salt-laden winds.