Perennial with basal rosette, often much branched and usually swollen at base, with old leaves not deciduous. Leaves obÂlong to oblong-oblanceolate, 20-35 x 5-12(-15) mm, rounded, rarely bluntly acute or obtuse, dorsiventrally compressed but slightly convex on both surfaces, each covered with hard irregularly shaped papilÂlae broadened towards apex but often with recurved cilia towards base, grey-green. InÂflorescence an almost spherical thyrse, rarely slightly elongated, with peduncle 30-80(-120) mm long and covered with rounded papillae. Calyx: lobes broadly triÂangular, 1,5-2 mm long, with rounded often obtuse apices, with recurved hairs and marÂginal cilia, fleshy, grey-green. Corolla tubuÂlar, fused basally for c. 0,8 mm, white or cream; lobes oblong to oblong-oblanceoÂlate, 3—4 mm long, obtuse and with indisÂtinct dorsal appendage, scarcely recurved. Stamens with yellow anthers. Squamae obÂlong to almost square, 0,5-0,7 x 0,4-0,6 mm, slightly emarginate, more or less constricted downwards, fleshy, pale yellow.
