Rough saxifrage is a perennial herb with short, tufted, basal rosettes growing in small, loose clumps to a height of about . The margins of the linear lanceolate leaves are fringed with short bristly hairs giving the plant a rough appearance. The foliaceous buds in the axils of the leaves are only half as long as their protecting leaves, a fact that distinguishes this species from the rather similar mossy saxifrage,
Saxifraga bryoides. The flowers are up to in diameter and are borne singly or in few-flowered spikes on long, erect stems clad with a few small leaves. Each flower has five calyx lobes and five, slightly overlapping, broad white or cream coloured petals with a yellow blotch near the base and sometimes a number of yellow spots. The ten stamens are in two whorls, one slightly longer than the other. The ovary is superior and the fruit is a two-celled capsule. Rough saxifrage flowers in June and July. ==Distribution and habitat==