Plants forming mats on shallow bedrock, with stems becoming pendent, drooping over the cliff face. A fairly long-lived and fast-growing, cold-tolerant succulent. The ascending green leaves store sufficient amounts of moisture for the dry cold winter months.

The soft, fragile nature of the leaves suggests it has adapted to a safe environment free from the disturbance of larger herbivores, in contrast to the grazed grassland.

The bright yellow, simple flowers are very conspicuous, maximising visibility for successful pollination on the cliff and ledge environment. It is mainly pollinated by bees and small beetles. Flowering time occurs in summer and autumn, this long persistent flowering ensuring an efficient seed supply.

The locules of the 5-locular fruiting capsules are not covered by membranes (as found in many other mesembs), and consequently the seeds are washed out by falling rain drops, and thus locally dispersed by water  termed wash-out dispersal, (Hartmann 1991), ideal for establishment in crevices.

Plants increase vegetatively, forming small mats that become pendent, the branches rooting where they touch the soil (vegetative growth), an efficient vegetative dispersal backup and adaptation to the cliff face, ensuring long-term survival. The numerous moss and algae associated with its habitat during the rainy season reflects the high rainfall and moist air and fog. However the winters are dry and sunny when the leaves turn purplish due to the pigment betanin which reduced the process of photosynthesis.

Fig. 6. During the dry season the leaves of Delosperma nubigenum can turn purplish due to the pigment betanin.