Anacampseros papyracea subsp. namaensis has been moved between the Avonia and Anacampseros genera in the past, but still seems to be enduring this current name.

At issue were the characteristic papery scales or stipules covering the plant's leaves. These tiny features serve as shields for plant protection. The plants typically grow exposed in harsh, desert-like conditions where temperature extremes are common. Plants not normally hiding under the bigger shrubs, have to provide for themselves against their challenges, in this case by growing stipule covers. Survival adaptation is a diverse creative miracle, called nature. Maybe the feature also serves as camouflage.

Avonia flowers are five-petalled, often white or pale yellow, small and very short-lived. The pedicels of the flowers lengthen as the flowers wilt, probably a reaction in aid of seed dispersal, which follows very soon. 

A. papyracea subsp. namaensis typically develops a series of white stipule-covered branches from a central stem; the leaves photosynthesising through the stipules (www.theplantlist.org; www.cactiguide.com).