Witsenia maura is a shrubby, evergreen iris with clustered fan leaves similar to the other two woody iris genera, Klattia and Nivenia. They have hard, brittle stems rare in the monocots. It is an erect or sprawling plant growing from 1-3 m in height. The leaves are narrow, 100-150 mm long and 40-70 mm wide at the base. It has six to eight flowers shading from pale-green to black. They are up to 85 mm long, occurring in pairs that are held together by three to five bracts. Each flower has pubescent (hairy) outer tepals, blackish in the lower half and yellow in the upper half, creating a brilliant display in winter, March-August. Witsenia maura is severely threatened by coastal development for urbanisation and recreation.