Belongs to the monotypic genus; Subfamily: Didiereoideae.

Shrub or small tree 4-6 m tall, slender trunk; twigs in zig-zag; spines twinned, short and strong. Leaves alternate, simple, often pubescent, deciduous. Inflorescences in biparous cymes. Fruits turbinated or ovoid, trigon, very hard pericarp. It differs from the other genera of the Didieraceae by its zigzag branches.

Phylogenetically, it is related to the genus Didiera (Ocampo & al., 2010). Local populations use D. madagascariensis as a fence. It is also sold on the international holticulture market (Rutherford & al., 2018).