Low spreading succulent - stemmed shrub 20 - 25 cm high. Spines straight, to c. 2 cm long. Peduncles very viscid, to c. 5 cm long; pedicels much < viscid. Bracts 0.7 - 0.8 x 1.2 - 1.3 cm, very broad and semi-lunate, opposite, scarlet. Glands orange-red. Male flowers? red. "Crown of thorns".