Erect herbs up to 1 m high with 1 or more annual or biennial stems from the peren­nial woody base. Stems patently grey hairy in the lower part, less dense higher up, only rarely completely glabrous. Lower leaves subrosulate, long-petiolate, up to 20 cm long and 6 cm broad, broadly lanceolate in outline, variously pinnately lobed with up to 12 pairs of lobes; lobes opposite or alternate, often pointing backwards, mostly broad, obtuse, dentate, occasionally acute, longer and sharp­ly dentate; patently hairy on both or only the lower surface, glabrescent, occasionally glab­rous. Stem leaves smaller, shortly petiolate with fewer, smaller and narrower lobes and less hairy; uppermost leaves usually quite glabrous, often sessile, ± lobed or dentate to subentire, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate Racemes dense, corymbose at first, lax, elongate in fruit; rhachis glabrous or sparsely hairy. Sepals 3-8-5-5 mm long, linear-ob­long, glabrous or at first sparsely hairy; the outer 2 cucullate, frequently slightly horn-tipped. Petals 6-8 mm long, 1-5-2-5 mm broad, spath There is one group of specimens which appears to consist of hybrids between S. capense and S. turczaninowii. They vary in size from quite small to 1 m high, are less densely hairy than S. turczaninowii, but more hairy than S. capense. The leaves are also ± intermediate, and so are the fruits which measure 2-3-4-5 cm x 1-1-3 mm in diameter, have sparsely hispid valves and the seeds in 2 rows.