Small, slow-growing, herbaceous, succulent, perennial herb, 200-400 mm tall, with rosettes solitary, not forming clusters, 250-400 mm diam. Stems usually absent, rarely up to 120 x 40-50 mm diam., creeping along ground, with persistent dried leaves. Leaves laxly rosulate. distinctly spreading, attenuate, tapering to dried, reflexed apex, 130-400 mm long, 40-60 mm broad at base, upper surface dull pale green to brown, with pale milky green to whitish spots, variously shaped and sized, sometimes ± confluent in transverse bands, densely dotted with tiny whitish dots, lower surface uniformly pale to milky green, with dense whitish to milky green spots, ± confluent in transverse bands, usually with longitudinal darker greenish or purplish striations; margin not distinctly coloured, with very pungent, straight, brownish orange teeth, 2-4 mm long, 7-14 mm apart, ± evenly spaced; leaf exudate drying opaquely yellow, cut end eventually turning dark purple. Inflorescence single, 260-1000 mm tall, erect, 4-8(-10)-branched from above middle, upper branches rarely re-branched, branches erectly spreading. Peduncle 5-8 mm wide at base, matt purplish brown with a soft, whitish bloom, basally planoconvex; without sterile bracts; branches subtended by up to 30 mm long, 5-10 mm wide at base, straw-coloured, thin, scarious, many-nerved bracts. Racemes cylindrical to head-shaped. 40-60 x 50-70 mm, varying in size according to age of plants, larger in old plants, smaller in young plants, laxly flowered; buds erect to spreading, somewhat congested at apex, flowers subpendulous when open. Floral bracts amplexicaul, 5-15 x 2-3 mm, dirty brownish white, margins the same colour, thin, scarious, many-nerved. Pedicels 10-20 mm long, red. Flowers: perianth varying from uniformly red to tri-coloured with green, creamy white and reddish tips, 25-28 mm long, 5-7 mm across ovary, abruptly constricted to 3-4 mm above ovary to form basal swelling, widening towards middle to 5 mm, widening towards throat and wide open mouth, cylindric-trigonous; outer segments free for 12-14 mm, tips recurved and slightly spreading. Stamens with slightly flattened, pale lemon-yellow filaments, hardly exserted. Ovary 5-6 x 2 mm, bright light green; style not exserted. Fruit cylindric-oblong, matt light green capsule. 20-25 x 7-10 mm. Seed not seen. Flowering time June to July.
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