Perennial of the Saxifragaceae family, Gymnopera section. Its natural range is Atlantic and restricted, centered on the Pyrenees and the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, with a presence in southwestern Ireland, making it a species with a distinctly Atlantic distribution. It colonizes damp rocks, shaded gorges, stream edges, and cool undergrowth, generally between 400 and 1800 meters in altitude.
It forms large carpet-like clumps of spread-out rosettes, with orbicular to kidney-shaped leaves, crenate, of a vivid and bright green, borne on long petioles. The upper surface is covered with stiff, visible hairs, a characteristic to which the species owes its name. The evergreen foliage, with its beautiful freshness, is an attraction in itself for shaded compositions.
The floral stems, thin, reddish, and glandular, rise to 20–40 cm and branch into very airy panicles bearing numerous small cream-white to pinkish-white flowers, with discreet red dots at the base of the petals. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July. In cultivation, it generally occurs in May-June.
It is perfectly suited to cool woodland gardens, shaded edges, and the vicinity of water features, on humus-rich, cool to moist soil, well-drained in depth. It does not tolerate summer drought or full sun.