Banksia epimicta is a prostrate, spreading shrub with its stems more or less on the ground and that forms a lignotuber. It has crowded, pinnatifid leaves that are linear in outline,  long and  wide on a petiole up to  long, with between ten and thirty-five sharply-pointed, curved teeth on each side. The flowers are borne on a down-turned head containing between forty-five and seventy pungent-smelling flowers in each head.
Banksia epimicta is a low-growing, spreading shrub with its stems nearly touching the ground and forming a rootstock. It has densely packed, deeply divided leaves that are narrow in outline, long and wide on a stalk up to  long, with between ten and thirty-five sharply-pointed, curved teeth on each side. The flowers are borne on an inverted head containing between forty-five and seventy pungent-smelling blooms in each head.