Before the elongating stem raises the successive new leaf pairs of Crassula setulosa var. setulosa forma setulosa off the ground, they form this rosette-like stack.
The opposite leaf pairs diminish in size to the top, consorting with lichen and silica gravel on the rock. The thinly succulent leaves are ovate, tapering to acute tips. Their margins are adorned with white bristles of roughly equal length, spaced and curving towards the leaf base in a fringe; a little like millipede feet. The green leaf surfaces are rough in texture with scattered purple dots upon them, pink on the youngest leaves and densely arranged in a row near the margins (Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; iSpot).