Aloe verecunda plants form dense clumps up to about 30 cm high. The narrow fleshy leaves usually form a fan-shape and are borne on very short stems which branch at ground level. The leaves may occasionally form a rosette in older specimens. They are dull green or bluish-green with the upper surface distinctly channelled and the lower surface bearing numerous tuberculate white spots towards the base. The margins of the leaves are armed with soft white teeth.

Aloe verecunda is deciduous and loses all its leaves in winter. New leaves appear only after the first spring rains. The plant has thick fleshy roots in which it stores water during the dry winter months.

Attractive, dense heads of up to 20 peach-red to scarlet flowers are borne in summer (November to February). A greenish-yellow form is also occasionally found. The individual flowers are tubular and up to 30mm in length, becoming pendulous when open.