Plants succulent, with fine fibrous roots, growing in dense mats up to 200 mm in diameter, becoming deciduous in summer; branching from below soil level from a short stem base about 20 mm in diameter. Branches erect, arranged in tight clusters, 4-6 mm in diameter and up to 30 mm high; bark silvery-grey, cracking and peeling to expose the newer green growth. Leaves consisting of two types: small, rudimentary, linear-acute bract-like, persistent and stiff, 1 mm long, soon drying out; larger conspicuous, and spathulate, covered with dense glandular hairs, erect to suberect, 1-3 but usually single; petiole short to elongated, occasionally canaliculate, narrowing towards the base, 5-8(12) mm long and 1.2 mm broad, blade dorsiventrally flattened, variable in shape, ovate to broadly ovate to elliptic, obtuse when young but subacute to acute in mature leaves, occasionally with a reddish mucro, 10-20(25) x 7-10(12) mm; base cuneate. Inflorescence a thyrse consisting of a 1-3-flowered monochasium, but usually single-flowered. Peduncle 10-12 mm long, covered with glandular hairs. Pedicels reddish-brown, densely covered with glandular hairs, 10-12 mm long. Flowers c. 15 mm long; calyx lobes triangular, 1.5-2 mm long x 0.5-1 mm broad, densely glandular hairy. Corolla tube cylindrical to funnel-shaped, light lime-green, glandular hairy on outer surface, c. 10 mm long and 4 mm broad; lobes narrowly oblong with outer third expanded, unevenly acute, strongly recurved, slightly twisted towards tube, white or in habitat occasionally pink-red on inner curvature and white on outer curvature, 4-6 mm x 2 mm. Stamens narrowly linear, projecting well beyond stigma, hairy from attachment to corolla tube to base, longest c. 10 mm long; anthers dimorphic, transversely rectangular to pyriform with several projecting to mouth of corolla tube, 0.5 mm long; Squamae transversely rounded rectangular, white to very light lime green, emarginate or with wavy upper margin 1 mm broad and 0.70 mm high.