It produces exactly two prostrate (flat-lying) leaves that measure only 3 to 8.5 cm in length. The top side is a dusty blue-grey (glaucous) and completely covered in a dense, spectacular coat of 2.5 mm long, soft, erect white hairs. The leaf undersides are contrasting shiny green and completely smooth.
In early autumn (March to April in the wild), before the leaves fully emerge, it pushes up a slightly zigzagged pinkish-green stem. This carries a loose, starry cluster (infiorescence) of delicate, snowy white, funnel-shaped flowers.
It operates on a strict winter-growing, summer-dormant schedule. It flowers in early autumn, flushes its velvety leaves through the winter, and drops them entirely to retreat into the bulb by summer.
They require a highly mineral, nutrient-lean, sharply draining substrate. Mix 80% coarse river sand, fine pumice, or quartz grit with 20% lean loam.
