Plants growing in clumps on precipice faces. Stem up to 25 cm long, 20 mm diam., the old dry leaves not persistent; freely suckering and forming dense groups of up to 20 stems. Leaves up to 30 cm long, 15 mm wide, linear-acuminate, green, obscurely lineate, usually distichous to subdistichous, sometimes rosulate; upper surface usually rather flat nearer base, slightly canaliculate upwards, unspotted, or occasionally with a few small scattered white spots near base; lower surface spotted in lower half of leaf, copiously near base, fewer and more scattered upwards, the spots rounder and smaller near base, slightly elongate upwards, not raised and not sub-tuberculate; margins frequently entire, sometimes ciliate with minute white teeth 1-2 mm distant. Inflorescence up to 30 cm long. Peduncle flattened near base and up to 5 mm diam., semi-terete above, sparingly sterile-bracteate from about the middle, the lowest sterile bracts up to 15 mm long, 8 mm broad, ovate-acute, sub-scarious, sub-amplexicaul, whitish, obscurely many-nerved. Raceme capitate, about 5-6 cm long and broad, 10-15-flowered, the buds sub-erect and denser, the open flowers cernuous and slightly laxer, flame-scarlet, with green tips. Brum ovate-acute, up to 14 mm long, 8 mm broad when pressed flat, sub-amplexicaul, rather thin and whitish, sub-scarious, obscurely many-nerved, about two-thirds the length of the pedicel. Pedicels lowest up to 25 mm long, shorter upwards. Perianth 25 mm long, cylindrical, slightly ventricose, about 6-5 mm diam. at the middle, distinctly roundly trigonous, shortly stipitate at base; outer segments free, very obscurely about 7-nerved, the nerves confluent, with greenish apex, the apices slightly spreading; inner segments free, not cohering dorsally to the outer, narrower at base and broader near apex than the outer, about 8 mm broad above the middle, with thin white margins, and a keel dull flame-scarlet for its greater length, turning green at apex, the apices broader, more obtuse and more spreading than the outer. Filaments filiform-flattened, the 3 inner slightly narrower and lengthening in advance of the 3 outer. Anthers 2 mm long, exserted up to 1 mm Style filiform. Stigma at length exserted up to 1 mm. Ovary 4-5 mm long, 2 mm diam., finely 6-grooved, pale yellow. Capsule 19 mm long, 9 mm diam., 6-grooved, dull green, for some time enwrapped with the remains of the dry perianth.
More
Plants suckering, forming dense clumps 150-300 mm tall; short-stemmed, pendent. Leaves +16, distichous or rosulate, horizontal to reflexed, lorate-lanceolate, 160-330 x 12-20 mm, slightly canaliculate, apple-green, margins entire, ciliate or obscurely denticulate. Inflorescence a capitate raceme; peduncle 150-300 mm long, with sterile bracts; bracts ovate-acute, 10-14 x 3-8 mm, obscurely many-nerved. Flowers orange, 17-27 mm long, cylindric; all segments free, often with green apices; pedicels 14-26 mm long. Anthers exserted up to 1 mm. Ovary pale yellow, 4.5-6.0 x 2.0 mm; style exserted up to 1 mm. Fruit ±19 x 9 mm.
Caulescent, succulent herb, in dense clumps. Leaves not fibrous, margins usually minutely dentate, rosulate, 160-330 x 12-20 mm. Raceme capitate. Flowers orange.