At present, the genus Chasmatophyllum contains nine species, but a proper taxonomic study would probably reduce this number. The genus name is derived from two Greek words: chasma (open mouth) and phyllum (leaf).
C. stanleyi is a low shrub 7-9 cm tall with a stout woody rootstock and ascending branches.
The leaves are trigonous, 10-13 mm long, 3 mm wide and up to 4 mm thick, covered with little warts; the keel usually has a prominent recurved tooth below the tip and the margins sometimes have a tooth on each side.
In September -October the flowers appear; they are yellow (reddish at the tips) and 20-24 mm in diameter.
Occurring on stony to shaley slopes and flats from Laingsburg into the Karoo and the Eastern Cape.
