Erect, succulent shrublet to 60cm with thick branches. Overlapping, oval-pointed, fleshy, hairy-edged leaves are arranged symmetrically around the stem; brilliant red (rarely white) flowers have five petals joined into a tube near the base.

Pollinated by the Table Mountain Beauty butterfly.

Latin: crassus = thick; referring to fleshy leaves and stems; capensis = pertaining to the Cape of Good Hope.