Swainsona sericea is an upright or prostrate, sparsely branched perennial plant about 10 cm (3.9 in) high with stems thickly covered in soft hairs.

The leaves are greyish-green, up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long, narrowly oblong, 5-13 leaflets to 1.5 cm (0.59 in) long, densely hairy, pointed at the tip, apex leaflet considerably longer, upper and lower surfaces more or less covered with short, soft, silky hairs and stipules 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long.

Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is an oval-shaped pod, hairy, up to 1.7 cm (0.67 in) long and ending in a point.

[2][3][4] This species was described in 1948 by Alma Theodora Lee and given the name Swainsona oreboides subsp.

[6][7] The specific epithet (sericea) means "silky".