Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial rosettes which form loose tufts or clumps, with ebracteate, erect inflorescences, and white corollas with partly exserted or fully included stamens.

[4] Multiple specimens of original material (syntypes) of Myosotis goyenii were collected in different localities in Otago, New Zealand by Peter Goyen (from Arrowtown) and Donald Petrie (from the Cardrona Valley and Lake Hawea).

[7][4] Donald Petrie gave this species the specific epithet goyenii to honor his friend, Peter Goyen (1845–1927), who collected several specimens of it.

[10] Myosotis goyenii plants have long woody taproots or fibrous roots, and are single rosettes that often grow together to form loose clumps or tufts.

Both surfaces and the edges of the leaf are densely covered in straight, appressed, antrorse (forward-facing) hairs that are oriented parallel to the mid vein.

Each rosette has 2–40 erect, usually once-branched (sometimes unbranched), ebracteate inflorescences that are up to 350 mm long and are usually bifurcating in an open, forked 'V' shape near the tips.

[4] The species is listed as At Risk - Naturally Uncommon on the most recent assessment (2017-2018) under the New Zealand Threatened Classification system for plants, with the qualifier "Sp" (Sparse).