This Crassula brevifolia subsp. brevifolia shrublet ensconced on its cliff in Namaqualand has grown to a good size, given the little soil in the crevice where it lives. Although small, it may be a few years old already, demonstrating how survival qualities are tested in this land of solitude, patience and fortitude. Provisions are stored in the leaf succulence for the frequent hard times of this habitat.

The plant reaches heights ranging from 10 cm to 50 cm; the floor value of the interval more appropriate for a plant germinating in a mere crack in the rock (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot).