Divaricately branched, spinescent subshrub or small shrub up to 0.5(0.7)m, greyish with a dense hispid indumentum, more rarely glabrous and blue-green in colour, with very conspicuous wool-like tufts of axillary hairs surpassed by 1-3 spines, annual branches green with narrow whitish ridges, later turning whitish, finally grey or greyish-brown, fissured, stem up to 15(20) mm thick. Leaves spreading to recurved, rigid, 4-10 x 1.2-1.5 mm, semi-terete, spine 1-1,5 mm long. Flowers in loose spikes. Bracts and bracteoles leaf-like, but with shorter blade (3-8 and 2-6 mm ), recurved and exposing the axillary flower. Tepals narrow ovate to ligulate, 2.5-4 mm long, the outer 1.3-1.5 mm wide, 3-5-veined, the inner 1-3-veined, midrib reaching the upper half of tepal and often shortly protruding into a short mucro, transverse line at 1/5-1/4, the back and margins usually densely papillose. Anthers 1.8-2.8 mm long, including the oblong, 0.3-0.6 mm long appendage, divided for 1/2; filaments 2.5-3.5 mm long; disc robust, 0.4-0.5 mm wide, slightly lobed, with glandular surface. Style large, 0.9-1.6 mm long, stigmas band-shaped, 0.9-2 mm long, moderately recurved, inner surface densely and shortly papillose. Fruiting perianth 6-8(10) mm diam., wings coriaceous, without prominent veins, hispid, the 2 inner distinctly narrower but about as long as the outer, linear to spathulate; lobes above the wings in lower part thickened, horizontally incurved, in upper part erect, forming a stiff column c. 1 mm wide, often dilated toward the apex, tepals below the wings hardened, coalescent, at base rounded, without distinct grooves. Utricle horizontal.