A single-stemmed, erect and sometimes untidy shrub up to 5 m tall. The oval leaves are heart-shaped at the base (50-130mm long - 20-55mm wide) and flowerheads (90-120mm long, c. 60mm wide) have pink involucral bracts that are fringed with hairs. Seeds are retained in seedheads until fire occurs when they are released. They occur as large, dense stands in acid sand proteoid fynbos of both mountainous and flat areas.