Brunsvigias are deciduous, temperate, bulbous plants. Most species have subterranean bulbs but they are usually half-exposed in B. herrei and B. josephinae. The bulb tunics are typically brittle and tan-coloured, although they are brown and papery in B. josephinae and B. litoralis.

When mature, the leaves are broad and oblong to tongue-shaped. In species with small bulbs - B. radula , B comptonii and B. namaquana -there are just two or three leaves per plant but most other species have at least four leaves per bulb. B. josephinae has the distinction of producing as many as 20 leaves. The leaves mostly lie flat on the ground and sometimes press down so firmly that they lie vertically if the bulb is dug up. Only in B. litoralis , B. josephinae , B. grandiflora, B. undulata and B. herrei do the leaves stand clear of the ground. Although usually smooth, the upper leaf surfaces of two Namaqualand species ( B. radula and B. namaquana ) are covered with straw-coloured bristles and in some populations of B. striata from the southern Cape, they bear soft, scale-like hairs. In the winter rainfall region of southern Africa, the foliage is produced after the flowering heads have been shed, whereas in the summer rainfall region the vegetative and flowering stages often overlap.

The inflorescences are extremely eye-catching. In most species the pedicels are straight and radiate outwards to form an almost perfectly spherical head. However, B. litoralis , B. josephinae and B. orientalis differ in having pedicels that curve below each flower. Just three species ( B. pulchra, B. marginata and B. elandsmontana ) have compact, brush-like inflorescences. The flowers vary from ruby-red to brilliant scarlet or pale to bright pink and in some species the entire inflorescence is attractively coloured. When in flower, the plants are spectacular but the flowering period is brief and restricted to summer and autumn. Pink flowers are the norm, whereas red flowers are found in B . marginata , B. orientalis, B.litoralis and B. josephinae. Floral markings are often variable within species but dark veins on the tepals are characteristic for B. bosmaniae and B. gregaria.

The six tepals of each flower are free to the base or shortly fused into a tube. Radially symmetrical, trumpet-shaped flowers occur in species with compact, dense inflorescences, whereas bilaterally symmetrical flowers occur in species with open, lax heads. In B. comptonii , B. radula and B . namaquana, the flowers are highly asymmetrical as all but one tepal curve upwards. Often the flowers are scented and all produce nectar.

The water-rich, non-dormant seeds are borne in dry capsules that are spindle-shaped or three-angled and often heavily ribbed.