Annual or short-lived herb with a short rootstock and a persistent taproot. Leaves all basal, in a rosette, ascending or erect, thick, narrow-elliptic to oblanceolate or narrow-oblong, (1–)6–14 (–18) cm long, (0.2–) 0.3–1 (–2.4) cm wide, villous-pubescent on both surfaces, dentate but sometimes obscurely so, 3-nerved, tapering to the broadened base that obscures a tuft of short white axillary hairs. Scapes to 30 cm long, villous-pubescent. Spikes (1–)2.3–12(–19) cm long. Bracts ovate, concave, 1.5–4 mm long, glossy brown to black, with a broad, glabrous or sparsely pubescent carina; glossy and thickened over the whole width except for a narrow ciliate margin. Sepals subequal, elliptic to obovate, concave, 1.8–3.5 mm long, obtuse; with a rounded glabrous or sparsely pubescent, glossy, dark brown to black keel. Corolla: tube 2–3 mm long, lobes ovate(1–)1.4–2.5 mm long 1–1.8 mm wide, acute with an obscure midvein. Stamens: anthers brown, 1.6–0.8(–1.6) mm long. Ovary bilocular, one loculus with 2 ovules, the other with 3; style single, 5–7 mm long. Capsule ovoid to sub-globular with a broadly acute apex, (3–) 3.3–5 mm long, 2.2–3.2 mm diam., the hardened upper portion usually glossy and dark brown to black. Seeds up to 5 in number, golden-brown to dark brown, elliptic, 2–2.7 mm long, 1–1.4 mm wide, with a thick mucilaginous layer, the apical seed smaller, irregular and shed in the upper part of the capsule.
Temporarily moist open sites in arid and semiarid regions, in grassland, shrubland and saltbush plains; mostly on heavy clay soils.
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