It is an evergreen, winter-growing succulent plant with short, sharp leaves arranged in rosettes of 20 cm in diameter.

In the summer (November to December), T. marginata produces pink-white flowers on a multi-branched inflorescence.

Following recent phylogenetic studies, it has been shown that these four species in fact constitute a distinct out-group, separate from other Haworthias.

[1][2] The natural distribution of this species is in the far southern coastal part of the Cape, from as far east as Riversdale, to Ashton in the West.

Its habitat is usually arid slopes and flats of sandstone or shale, often in renosterveld vegetation.