Leucopogon fasciculatus is an open-branched, spreading shrub or small tree up to 5–6 m tall, varying in habit according to exposure. It grows in coastal to lower montane shrubland, light forest and in rocky places up to 1150 metres from the Three Kings Islands to Canterbury.

The trunk has flaky bark that peels off into thin strips. The leaves are thin and narrow with a sharp point (1–2.5 cm long by 2–4 mm wide) and are arranged in bundles or whorls on slender black stems.

Small creamy greenish flowers (3-4mm) with many tiny hairs on the petals occur in drooping racemes of 6 to 12 flowers in spring. They have a sweet fragrance. The small round or slightly oblong, mostly red (rarely pink or white) berries (2-4mm long) with one seed per berry are present from spring to early autumn. The caterpillars of New Zealand moth Poecilasthena pulchraria (wingspan of about 25mm) feed on the leaves and berries of this shrub. The caterpillars are green or brown marked with purplish brown and a broken white or cream lateral line.