Haworthiopsis viscosa typically grows its sharp succulent leaves in three tiers or columns ("trifarious" leaf arrangement).

The pointed leaves are scabrous ("viscosa" means "sticky") and packed densely along its stems.

In the wild, it often shows damage from grazing animals, as it is a common food source.

variabilis is a variety with variable leaf-length, from the far south of the species' natural range, north-east of Joubertina.

Phylogenetic studies demonstrated that subgenus Hexangulares was actually relatively unrelated to other haworthias and so it was moved to the new genus Haworthiopsis.