Plants acaulescent, with many off-shoots from base, forming large groups of a dozen and more densely compact rosettes, the rosettes up to 7-8 cm diam. Leaves 30-40, densely rosulate, lanceolate-deltoid, 6 cm long, 2 cm broad at base; upper surface flat to slightly convex, glaucous, without spots or spines; lower surface convex, glaucous, with a few soft spines in median line or irregularly scattered in upper third; margins not sinuate but armed with firm whitish deltoid teeth 2-3 mm long, 10 mm distant, apex a firm spine. Inflorescence simple, 1-2 from a rosette, 40 cm high. Peduncle clothed with many ovate, sub-amplexicaul, thin, scarious, whitish many-nerved sterile bracts, 15 mm long, 13 mm broad at base. Raceme conical, 15 cm, long, 7 cm diam. low down, the open flowers laxer, gradually denser upwards, with the buds congested and obscured by their bracts. Bracts ovate-lanceolate, many-nerved, the lowest as long as their pedicels. Pedicels lowest 15 mm long, sub-erect. Perianth pale scarlet, 38 mm long, cylindric-trigonous, slightly curved, with an exceedingly slight narrowing above the ovary, thence slightly enlarging towards the throat, the mouth wide open, rather trigonous; outer segments free to base, obscurely green-nerved near apex, the apices acute; inner segments free to base, not cohering to the outer, broader than the outer, with a 3-nerved keel the colour of the perianth turning green at apex. Anthers exserted 4 mm Stigma at length exserted 5 mm. Ovary green, 5 mm long, 2.5 mm diam. Flowers mostly in October and November.
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Plants stemless, 100-150 mm tall excluding inflorescence, suckering to form dense clumps. Leaves 76-102 cm a rosette, lanceolate-deltoid, 40-100 (120-150 in A. brevifolia var. depressa) x 20-50 (-60 in A. brevifolia var. depressa) mm, blue-grey, upper surface flat to slightly convex, lower surface convex with few soft prickles, margins dentate. Inflorescence a simple subdense, cylindric-conical raceme; peduncle 400-500(-650) mm long, with sterile bracts; bracts ovate-acute, 13-16 x 5-7 mm, 5-many-nerved. Flowers scarlet-pink, 25-40 mm long, cylindric-trigonous; all segments free; pedicels 10-15(-20) mm long. Anthers exserted 1-4 mm. Ovary ±5.0-7.0 x 2.5 mm, green; style exserted 5-10 mm. Fruit ±18(-23) x 7(-9) mm, grey.
Acaulescent, succulent perennial, suckering from base to form dense colonies. Leaves glaucous, without spots, lanceolate-deltoid, ± 60-150 mm long, with few soft spines in midline or scattered in upper third; margin with firm, deltoid, whitish teeth. Racemes simple, conical, lax at base denser distally, 40-60 cm high. Flowers pale to flame-scarlet, ± 38-40 mm long; stamens and stigma exserted.
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