Conophytum regale is a long-lived winter growing, summer resting succulent. The plants form loose clusters, and this habit is retained in cultivation. The plants grow in quartz crevices and rocky pockets on south-facing aspects and its highly succulent leaves enables the plant to survive the long dry summers when the plant goes into its resting phase. The darker urn-shaped leaf windows adjacent to the leaf fissures allow light to penetrate the swollen succulent tissue, a characteristic also found on a few other cliff-dwelling succulents. Like most other species of Conophytum, at the end of spring, the moisture from the old fused leaf pair is recycled into a new leaf pair (below), and the older withering remnants of the leaf pair becomes a covering that protects the younger leaf pair from the sun, during the long dry summer months. In autumn, with cooler conditions, the new leaf pair and flower emerges, breaking through the protective covering. The simple, white to pink flowers are large, conspicuous, and scented, reaching maturity during the summer months. The dry fruiting capsules retain the seeds like most other species of Conophytum, only to release the seeds during periods of rain. The capsule is hygrochastical, opening with moisture and closing again with dry conditions. During a rain event, the seeds are dispersed. The seeds are small with a tuberculate surface, ideal for establishment in crevices. 

Fig. 7. Conophytum regale in flower in the Kirstenbosch Succulent Collection Nursery. This collection was made by Harry Hall (1906–1986), first horticulturist in charge of the succulent collection at Kirstenbosch. Note the pink flowers and yellow stamens.