Usually the colour of the stems is a peculiar beige-greyish. In combination with their distinctly projecting teeth and hardened leaf-scars, this makes these plants usually immediately recognizable in the wild (Somaliland and the adjacent part of Ethiopia : the Ogaden). When the plants have had some rain or are growing in a sheltered place, the colour tends to be more greenish (see last picture).
The stems are 10-30 cm long, with as a rule 4 ribs.
The inflorescences are 5-7 cm in diameter, with 30-70 flowers, which are about 1.5 cm across and smell strongly of manure.
Most of the pictures were taken in the Medishu Valley, Somaliland, late September/early October 2015.