Low woody subshrub. Leaves in threes or whorls, long ovoid, pointed, with a white or pale green stripe along the veins. Leaves are evergreen and turn dark purplish green in winter (as at bottom). Flowers with 5 white to pinkish waxy petals. Fruits turban-shaped, splitting into 5 sections like an orange to release seeds. Blooms in summer.

Native woodland plant. Rare in Wildwood, but known from at least two locations on the eastern slope.

The waxy white flowers are distinctive, but even without flowers the plant is easily identified by its leaves.