Athanasia tomentosa is a single-stemmed shrub. Its sparse branches reach 2 m in height. Single-stemmed plants reseed rather than resprout.

The plant is found in the Western Cape in the Little Karoo and the Eastern Cape in the Kouga Mountains. It grows on rocky outcrops in arid fynbos. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

A. tomentosa used to be called A. velutina and Morysia velutina at different times in the past. The photo was taken in Meiringspoort in the Swartberg Mountains (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iSpot; www.redlist.sanbi.org).