A herb or small shrub. It keeps growing from year to year. It can grow 1 m high. It has a milky latex. It has flattened tubers that are irregular in shape and 35 cm across and 8 cm thick. The leaves are narrowly oval and 4 cm long by 2 cm wide. They have short hairs on the upper surface. The flowers are 10 mm across and light blue. The flowers are in groups or 3-7 in the axils of leaves.
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in hot arid places. It grows in areas with a marked dry season. It can grow in deserts and places with a dry season of 6-11 months. It grows in well-drained sandy or stony soils. In southern Africa it grows between 900-1,200 m above sea level. In Zimbabwe it grows between 500-1,,500 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
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