Small, much branched, monoecious perennial subshrub up to 0.8–1 × 0.8 m. Rootstock stout, woody. Stems somewhat succulent at first, ribbed, becoming basally woody with age, densely covered in velutinous, appressed hairs. Leaves opposite, densely clustered toward branch tips 40–50 × 25–30 mm, spreading to decurved, mostly broadly ovate, ovate-orbicular or elliptic; apex blunt to abruptly sub acute, sometimes very shortly apiculate; base attenuate; lamina somewhat fleshy, purple-grey, veins often purple, abaxial and adaxial surfaces silky canescent, margins crenulate to crenate. Petioles 5– 10 mm long, pink, fleshy, velutinous, basal abscission zone present. Inflorescence a terminal erect spike, 150–200 mm long; peduncle 15 mm long, fleshy, white-villous; spike rachis fleshy, white-villous to purple-villous; flowers bisexual, retrorse, sessile, c. 180–200 per spike, these spaced initially at 10-mm intervals along rachis, diminishing rapidly to <1-mm intervals toward inflorescence apex. Bract persistent on rachis, ovate to lanceolate 3–3.5 × 0.5– 1 mm, strongly retrorse, chartaceous, weakly keeled near apex only, pale white, margins entire, apex acute, sometimes with a small, 0.1–0.2-mm-long pale yellow mucro. Bracteoles 2; abscissing with senescent flowers; broadly ovate, 0.2–1 mm long, chartaceous hyaline, lustrous, pale caramel; margins entire; strongly keeled, keel lustrous, caramel brown, extending well beyond bract as a hardened, channelled, strongly recurved, falcate spine 4–5 mm long. Perianth segments (sepals) 5, lanceolate, central portion pale caramel-brown but distinctly pinktinged, margins pale yellow or off-white opaque, hyaline; segments sub equal, 4.5–6 mm, channelled. Stamens 4, connate at base, the filaments 0.5–1 mm, alternating with 4 narrowly spathulate, 0.4 × 0.6 mm, white-hyaline, petaloid, fimbriate-margined pseudostaminodes; anthers 0.4–0.6 mm, yellow, bilocular, dehiscing via longitudinal slits; pollen yellow. Style 0.6–1 mm, pink to pale orange, arising from a fleshy papillate style base 0.8 mm diam.; stigma brown, truncate. Utricle 2–2.5 mm long, dark brown, turbinate, chartaceous, surmounted by the dry, somewhat woody, style base. Seed 1.2–1.8 × 0.9–1.2 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, dark chestnut brown.

Herb to c. 1 m high. Stems lax, woody at base and ribbed, densely hairy with hairs somewhat appressed. Petioles 5-20 mm long, silky, often pink. Lamina 3-9 × 2-6 cm, broadly ovate, slightly rhomboid, clothed in appressed hairs above and below, silky canescent on young parts, crenulate or crenate, attenuate at base, acute or shortly acuminate. Infl. to 15 cm long; peduncle white-villous. Fls becoming retrorse, often tinged red. Bract c. 3 mm long, ovate, long-acuminate; bracteoles slightly > bract, with broadly scarious base and a long, subulate spine above. Tepals 3-5 mm long, shining, acute, becoming pungent in fr. Fr. 2-2.5 mm long.