Perennial forming basal, compact, rosulate clusters, when in flower, up to 250 mm tall and 200 mm diam. Roots fibrous. Stems erect to decumbent, succulent, terete, up to 8 mm diam., glabrous, yellowish green at first, becoming reddish brown with age. Leaves sessile, firm, distinctly succulent, linear-triangular, 40-100(-150) x 8-12 mm and up to 10 mm thick, upper surface flat to slightly channelled, lower surface rounded, yellowish to reddish green, faintly purplish mottled below; apex acute, mucronate; margin entire. Inflorescence a terminal, round-topped thyrse, 90-120 mm high, with numerous pedicellate 5-merous flowers in one to many dichasia, lower part of inflorescence glabrous, upper parts covered in many recurved, scabrid hairs; bracts 3-5 pairs, leaf-like, triangular-subulate, becoming smaller upwards, upper bracts 10 x 4 mm, floral bracts 5 x 1.5 mm; pedicels 1-3 mm long. Calyx: sepals subulate, 2.5-3.0 x 1.5 mm, subglabrous, with scattered recurved translucent scabrid hairs and distinct marginal cilia; apex acute. Corolla urceolate; petals red, triangular-lanceolate, 5 x 1.8 mm, spreading and recurved at apex, basally fused into a tube 1.5 mm long; apex reddish with distinct subulate dorsal appendage 0.5 mm long. Stamens: filaments 5 x 0.8 mm, tapering towards apex; anthers 0.8 x 0.5 mm, brown; pollen yellow. Squamae 0.3 x 0.5 mm, slightly emarginate, orange. Carpels 4 x 0.7-0.8 mm, abruptly tapering in upper half into erect reddish styles.
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