The epithet leucothrix means “with white hairs” and refers to the conspicuous glandular hairs on the leaves which make the species easily recognisable.
It is a small, sparsely branched shrub, usually no more than 5-8 cm tall, with a main stem that is 1.5-6.5 cm thick (normally partly underground), with peeling bark.
The leaves are arranged at the stem tips; they are narrow, 1-7.5 cm long and 0.2-1.5 cm wide, the upper surface grooved. They are dry at flowering time.
The inflorescence is up to 35 cm long and bears 0.6-1 cm long tubular flowers (yellowish-green to pale yellow with pink to almost white lobes) in October to February.
One usually comes across the species under bushes on south-facing (shaded) rocky slopes throughout the Little Karoo.
