PLants shrubs to about 50 cm tall; stems with lateral shoots normal to stunted, nodes enlarged, bark scabridulous. Leaves opposite to clustered, sessile; blades linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 25-35 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, semisucculent, scabridulous, midveins prominent below, sunken above, secondary veins invisible, bases cuneate, tips acute, rounded, or emarginate and mucronate. Flowers solitary, on stunted shoots; pedicels frail, 2-3 mm long, scabrous; sepals narrowly ovate to marrowly triangular, about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, pubescent, glandular, with long attenuate, fimbriate tips; corollas helically twisted and apiculate in bud, at anthesis glabrous, tubes 2-3 mm long, campanulate, lobes linear 5-8 mm long and about 1 mm wide, greenish yellow, glabrous, tips round and fimbriate; coronas single, about 1 mm long, lobes about 1 ,mm long, corniculate,glabrous tips in the corolla mouths; stamens about 1 mm long; anthers narrowly triangular, glabrous/ Follicles cylindrically ovoid with tapering tips. about 60 mm long and 5 mm wide; seeds obliquely oblong-obovate, 7-8 mm long, about 1.5 mm wide, blackish broan, somewhat warter, with hairs 20-25 mm long.
Cryptolepis gillettii grows in open scrub at about 300 m. It is known only form region N1 of the Flora of Somalia.