In cultivation this species is rather common, as it is one of the easier Gibbaeums to grow and flower (see picture at bottom).
In the wild it is only found on a few very dry shaly ridges near Vanwyksdorp. According to Nel’s Gibbaeum Handbook, it is the only Gibbaeum which does not grow together with any other species of the genus.
The plants look a bit like G. album, but they are darker and softer. The flowers appear in April.
