Jovibarba is a small genus of hardy succulents, closely related to Sempervivum. They make masses of fairly small, rather rounded rosettes, which are easily detached, but soon root again, wherever they end up. The leaves are usually yellowish green with purplish tips, and contrast with the starry flowers on short stems.

Jovibarba hirta is very like a Sempervivum (houseleek), forming a dense mat of small rosettes of fleshy, inwardly curved leaves, green with darker, red-brown streaks. The rosettes are shallowly rooted, and can easily detach themselves, rolling to a new site. Each year a few rosettes produce flower stems, each with a showy head of pale yellow, starry flowers.