This member of the Asteraceae family was described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1838. It is found in Southern South Africa, growing in grit, with little to some water and lots of sun. The caudex will get four centimetres or more in diameter, the plant to 40 or more centimetres. The flowers are yellow.

The genera name from the Greek othone, 'a linen cloth or napkin', in allusion to the downy covering of some of the earlier known species.

The species name from Greek;  triplus, meaning ‘triple’ or ‘threefold’ and nervus, a ‘sinew’, ‘tendon’ or ‘nerve’, referring to the leaves which have three veins from the middle.

This is a winter grower in the wild, but evergreen.