Coarse to slender, smooth, stout-rhizomatous perennial, stems short. Leaves often excurved, stiff, (6-)10-25 cm, blades compressed but firm, linear to linear-triangular, 2-4 mm wide, abruptly acute to acuminate or subulate-aristate, margins thickened-rounded, sharply revolute, surface coarsely veined. Scape 10-40 cm, distally terete, 1.5-2.1 mm thick, rarely sulcate, scape bracts 1 pair, mostly unequal, oblong-linear, (2-)3-5 cm; spikes variable in size and pigmentation, narrowly turbinate to obovate, ellipsoid or ovoid, 1.5-3 cm, flowers several to many, all bracts markedly shorter than sepals, ovate, 9-13 mm, acuminate-aristate. Lateral sepals incurved, 10-16 mm, margins scarious, broad, pale, keel thin, broad, spinulose-tipped; corolla 14-16 mm, blue or blue-violet; anthers 2-2.5 mm; lateral stylar appendages reflexed, flattened-clavate, basally auriculate. Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 4 mm long, valve tips short-acuminate, papillose; seeds ovoid to ellipsoid or subprismatic, 0.7-0.8 mm, dark brown to black, coarsely and irregularly ribbed, the intervals broad, nearly smooth.
Home