Euphorbia skottsbergii var. skottsbergii is a perennial, erect to prostrate shrub 0.2 m to 1 m (0.5 ft to 3.3 ft) tall (occasionally reaching 2 m (6.6 ft), with brittle, slender, jointed branches that are minutely hairy, especially when young. The opposite, two-ranked, oval leaves are 12 to 20 mm (0.5 to 0.8 in) long and 3 to 12 mm (0.1 to 0.5 in) wide, often with toothed margins, and have a hairless upper surface. Each cyathium (flower cluster resembling a single flower) is situated singly in a leaf axil and consists of a female flower made up of one pistil surrounded by several male flowers, each with a single stamen. The green capsules are 1.5 to 2 mm (0.06 to 0.08 in) in length with a curved stalk, and open to release gray to brown seeds 1 to 1.3 mm (0.04 to 0.05 in) long.