In its native habitat, it lives as a cremnophyte, clinging to inaccessible, sheer quartzitic sandstone cliffs overlooking the Kouga River. It forms short, creeping or hanging stems up to 12 cm long that branch from the base to produce small clusters of up to seven rosettes. The narrow, thick, spear-shaped leaves are typically a beautiful blue-grey-green color, but they possess a striking color-shifting defense mechanism: under intense sun or drought stress, the foliage blushes into a gorgeous pinkish-red hue. In late winter to spring, it sends up elegant, foot-long unbranched flower spikes bearing lax clusters of pendulous scarlet-red flowers with bright yellow mouths.
