Root, perennial, fibrous, much branched. Plant, a much lower shrub than hispidum, more compact and dense. Branches, much shorter, and more covered with crowding, shorter and smoother leaves than those of hispidum, so much so, as to be scarcely visible in healthy undrawn plants; when the young branches are visible, they are covered with short white recurving hairs. Leaves, the full grown ones, slightly incurving, nearly cylindrical, but not so completely so as those of hispidum, the youngest almost semicylindrical, all the leaves blunt, much shorter than those of hispidum, and more smoothly covered with hoarish shining chrystalline papulae, opposite, crossing each other in pairs, and where the plant is not drawn with heat, densely crowded or imbricated on the young branches, covering them almost from the fight; whereas those of hispidum are neither crowded nor imbricate, but remote from each other when compared with those of hirtellum. The leaves of hispidum are covered with rather prominent chrystalline papulae and are deep green. Those of striatum are covered with prominent very rough, and is it were, pilescent papulae or pointed chrystallizations, and are of a lighter colour. But the leaves of hirtellum are covered with very smooth even papulae, which gives them a whitish green or hoarish colour, that spangles when exposed to the sun. Flowers, larger than those of hispidum, and much more showy when perfect, and when extended exactly the diameter of half a crown, opening in the forenoon; at the first opening flat, but after the second opening, or sooner, recurving, or rather revolute, which circumcumstance almost tempted me to call the plant revolutum; of a fine bright purple colour above, and white at the base, especially on the inside. Peduncles, long cylindrical, covered with horizontal white hairs up to the very base of the calyx, where the hairs are gradually shortened, recurve back, acquire more or less of a chrystalline coat, and become papulose, indicating that the hairs of all hairy Mesembryanthema are little else than elongated papulae;-when led from hence by a close analogy, we can perceive the prickles in aculeated Aloes, are a kind of elongation of their verucae, or knob-like little warts, as appears by inspecting the nature of those warts in [some] Aloe [species]. Calyx, five cleft, the lower part of it covered with glittering pilescent recurving papulae, upper part with roundish shining chrystallizations, segments five, nearly equal, two plain, three edged with extremely thin, broad white membranes. Petals, numerous, linear, attenuate ate the base, emarginate, larger, broader, and longer than those of hispidum, of a bright but not dark purple colour, much paler on their outsides, white at their bases, beautiful when expanded, flat after first or second expansion, recurving revolute. Filaments, yellowish white, expanding, numerous, of various lengths, encircling the germ at their bases, beauteoufly studded with oblong horizontal, irregular projecting chrystalline papulae, of various lengths. Antherae, yellowish white, pollen whitish, buff. Germ, five angles, small deep green. Styles five, long, recurving, yellowish, roughish, with exceeding short shaggyish proturbences. Capsule, five cell's smallish pentagonal. Seeds, I have not seen.
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