Conicosia pugioniformis is a short-lived, winter-growing perennial. Several insects, including bees and beetles, have been observed visiting the flowers of this species. Seed may be found in their locules, and there are also pockets or chambers in which small seed quantities get encased in woody tissue. Conicosia capsules open once only and do not close again. The fruit is xerochastic, and burst by desiccation and the seeds are dispersed as the lightweight capsules break free and roll along the ground in the wind, scattering their seeds over vast distances. The dispersed seeds remain dormant for several months (or years), and some may germinate at the beginning of the rainy season. Seeds maintain a long viability in the soil and this enables it to ensure perpetuation over time, as well as space.

The seedlings of succulents can develop in different ways: in the genus Conicosia the cotyledons (seed leaves) are elongate and look like the adult foliage.

Mature plants have the ability to expand their root system annually. This enables the formation of a strong taproot, which becomes more swollen and develops into an underground caudex. If severed near the surface, a new stem will emerge the following growing season, from this caudex. This enables them to survive trampling and fires.

Photosynthetic tissues found within the genus Conicosia, are normally close to the surface and surround chlorophyll-free water-storing tissues. This increases conductance of the mesophyll, and, therefore, results in a decrease in the dependence of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). This very feature makes highly succulent Aizoaceae perfectly adapted to the wet winters and dry summers of the Succulent-Karoo Region (SKR).

Cysts of the nematode Globodera capensis are frequently detected in the sandy soils of the Sandveld-region. This nematode is the first known indigenous nematode in the genus. Sampling of cleared potato fields, and natural land surrounding some of the fields where opportunistic plants, including C. pugioniformis and Oncosiphon grandiflorum, were found growing, all revealed the presence of this cyst. This indicates that Conicosia may be a host plant, but at present the host plant still needs to be confirmed.