S. schaffneri, a perennial and herbaceous plant with a creeping rhizome system, reaches heights of 30–100 centimeters (12–39 inches) on striated slender stems with hairs in lines below and more uniformly hairy lines higher up.

[2] On the outside the flower heads of all members of the family Asteraceae are small bracts that look like scales.

These are called phyllaries, and together they form the involucre that protects the individual flowers in the head before they open.

[b][3] The involucre of each flower head of S. schaffneri is funnel-shaped or half-spherical and 4.5–7 mm (1⁄5–3⁄10 in) long.

The specimens analyzed had been collected in 1855, stored, and labeled "Aster schaffneri Schultz-Bip."