Shrublet up to 1m. Leaves small, flattened laterally; small flowers are cream to pink, in dense spikes. Fruits are dry and not fleshy.

All Passerina are wind pollinated and shed their pollen freely, often seen as clouds of pollen.

Latin: passer = sparrow: referring to the black seeds which resemble a sparrow's beak.

The common name Gonnabas refers to the bark (Afrik: bas) which was used for tying up bundles of wood or tying thatch. The bark of most Thymelaeaceae species is tough and tears into long strips.