Plants much-branched, long-lived, perennial, summer-deciduous shrublets with stems up to 500 mm long, forming ascending shrublets to 300 mm high or sometimes loose mats or pendent from cliffs. Main branch up to 8 mm in diameter. The roots are tuberous (main root or taproot), succulent, up to 5 mm in diameter. Branches 1.8–2.5 mm in diameter, 3.5 mm in diameter (basally up to 4 mm) at swollen nodes, at first green, with translucent papillate epidermis, becoming brownish, longitudinally fissured, becoming dark purplish brown, slightly articulated at nodes, soft and brittle, terete; nodes 7–25 mm apart. Leaves summer-deciduous, fleshy, green, spreading, pendent, subterete, linear, covered in warts (papillate), 12–18(–25) × 2 mm. The older leaves becoming purplish before they are shed. The upper leaf surface somewhat flattish with a rounded tip. The flowers are solitary, up to 20 mm in diameter, on pedicels 8–10 mm long. The floral receptacle is cup-shaped, 2–3 mm deep, 4 mm in diameter, bearing fleshy sepals with membranous wings. The floral petals are magenta to light pink, 8 × 1–1.5 mm. The stigmas (female portion) 5 mm long, warty (papillate). The nectar glands are green. The fruiting capsule is top-shaped, fragile, 5–6 mm in diameter, about 3–4 mm deep (open 9 mm in diameter, at top). The covering membranes are lacking and the valve wings broad, about 2 × 2 mm The seed 0.6 × 0.4 mm, light brown. Flowering is mainly in spring.

Fig. 2. Drosanthemum inornatum from the Aalwynberg in flower in the succulent nursery at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in spring. Note the absence of staminodes in the flower, and the plant retained its pendent habit.