Plants succulent, acaulescent, solitary, in small groups, or suckering and forming larger groups. Leaves 10-20, densely rosulate, erectly-spreading, up to 30 cm long with an additional 5-10 cm of dried twisted apex, 5-7 cm broad at base, gradually acuminate; upper surface brownish-green, sub-canaliculate, with oblong scattered white spots arranged more or less in a series of wavy interrupted transverse bands; lower surface convex, paler glaucous-green, somewhat lineale, usually immaculate; margins sinuate-dentate, with firm horny deltoid brown pungent teeth 3-5 mm long and 10-14 mm distant, the interspaces rounded. Inflorescence mostly 1-1.3 met. high, usually compactly branched above the middle, with 4-9 slender arcuate-erect branches, the lowest sometimes with branchlets. Peduncle terete, slender, flattened low down. Racemes cylindric-acuminate, 20-35 cm long (sometimes up to 40 cm.), somewhat loosely flowered, the central terminal raceme usually longer than the others, the lateral racemes slightly shorter; flowers dull reddish with a bloom, somewhat white striped in upper half, sometimes shading to orange at mouth. Bracts deltoid-acuminate, thin scarious, many-nerved, slightly longer than their pedicels. Pedicels 10-15 mm long, lengthening up to 20 mm in the fruit stage. Perianth 30 mm long, sub-globosely inflated at base (7 mm diam.), constricted above the ovary (5 mm diam.), thence decurved and enlarging towards the throat, slightly compressed laterally; outer segments connate into a tube for three-quarters their length, the free portion 7 mm long and with a white 1 mm wide marginal border, the apices sub-acute and slightly spreading; inner segments broader, and with more obtuse more spreading apices. Filaments flattened, the 3 inner narrower and lengthening in advance of the 3 outer. Anthers not or very shortly (1 mm) exserted, the 3 inner dehiscing in advance of the 3 outer. Stigma at length exserted 1 mm.
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