The key distinguishing character of this species is its roughly canaliculate dorsal petal appendage.

Key features for identifying it include: In addition, the stems of this variety are usually erect branches (woody at base, new shoots pubescent).

Around the Langeberg and Swartberg mountains, as far west as Worcester, some forms can have slender, pointed leaves.

This variety occurs from Worcester and Swellendam in the west, as far east as Port Elizabeth, as well as around the Swartberg mountains.

Key diagnostic features include: In addition, the leaves are green to yellow-green (becoming reddish in drought or direct sun).

Key diagnostic features include: In addition, the stems are erect branches, wiry and slender (2-4 mm).

In habitat they are distinctively reddish around the leaf-margin, where the hairs are slightly longer (though not in a single row).

[9] C. atropurpurea is very common and widely distributed in rocky areas across the western half of southern Africa.