The genus is named after Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, of the House of Wettin.

They have a low, dense cone of brown or black stilt roots, and pinnate leaves.

The rope-like inflorescences of the plant emerge from leathery spathes, and grow in a circular pattern around one or more trunk rings beneath the crown shaft.

The fruit is small to medium-sized and elongated, green to bluish black in color.

[1] Although none of the species are frost-tolerant, they are found primarily in cooler and higher-altitude locations, up to 2,200 m in the case of Wettinia kalbreyeri, and are particularly prevalent along the foothills of the Andes.