[3][4][5][6] It contains hard, thick, spine-tipped, lance-shaped leaves which usually have hairy edges.

[4][5] It produces small purple, pink, or occasionally white flowers which are thickly studded along the branches and 7 to 12 millimetres (0.28 to 0.47 in) long.

[10] It flowers between October and December in native areas, and between June and November in Australia.

[4][5][8] It serves as the host plant of the insect Pseudococcus muraltiae.

[11] According to the Red List of South African Plants, it is of least ecological concern and its population is stable.