Typically it has sharp, triangular leaves, mottled in colour and channeled on their upper surface.

The leaves have sharp points at their tips, and usually have keels in mature plants.

The natural range of this species is the southern stretch of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Here it occurs in rocky areas in Renosterveld and Fynbos vegetation, between Hermanus and Mossel Bay.

[2][3] This is a variable species, with a range of officially defined varieties, and also with several unofficial forms - several of which have become popular ornamental cultivars.