Small green rosette succulent from South Africa with lots of fine, flexible spines forming fringes on the leaf margins, and also appearing on the keel. Solitary or slowly offsetting, with rosettes from 2.5 up to 5 inches in extreme cases. This species is variable and a number of varieties have been described from specific areas and with specific features. Rosettes close up on themselves during drought and may be rounded during the summer. This plant is from a winter rainfall area in the Western Cape, into the Eastern Cape (3 varieties) and Northern Cape (var. namaquensis), from 28°S to 34°S. It is found mostly growing in the shade of other plants or rocks, and it prefers a somewhat protected position in cultivation.

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