It is a shrub, evergreen, growing to 1 m (3 ft) tall by 80 cm (3 ft) wide.
The foliage shows a pronounced seasonal dimorphism.
In winter and spring, the large, gray-green leaves develop horizontally to maximize photosynthesis during the growing period.
In summer, after the flowering, the big leaves fall and the plant then produces a new generation of smaller, undulated leaves, compressed against each other along the stems to reduce the area of sun exposure and limit evapotranspiration.
These new leaves are covered with a thick coat of wooly, golden brown hairs.

The flowers are yellow with 20-30 mm corolla, appear in April-May, and are carried in the leaf axils.

In the wild, P. bourgaei grows in shrublands, oak scrubs, and pine woods, on serpentine and calcareous rocks.
In cultivation it requires a well-drained soil and an exposure with sun or partial shade, and tolerates limestone.
It is a shrub, evergreen, growing to 1 m (3 ft) tall by 80 cm (3 ft) wide. The foliage shows a pronounced seasonal dimorphism. In winter and spring, the large, gray-green leaves develop horizontally to maximize photosynthesis during the growing period. In summer, after the flowering, the big leaves fall and the plant then produces a new generation of smaller, undulated leaves, compressed against each other along the stems to reduce the area of sun exposure and limit evapotranspiration. These new leaves are covered with a thick coat of wooly, golden brown hairs.
The flowers are yellow with 20-30 mm corolla, appear in April-May, and are carried in the leaf axils.
In the wild, P. bourgaei grows in shrublands, oak scrubs, and pine woods, on serpentine and calcareous rocks. In cultivation it requires a well-drained soil and an exposure with sun or partial shade, and tolerates limestone.
Phlomis bourgaei