Plant acaulescent, solitary without rhizomes, but occasionally several rosettes of leaves occur on one rootstock. Leaves 16-30, fleshy, rosulate, from about 14-20 cm long, 4-8 cm broad, about 1.7 cm thick, suberect with the lower spreading, biconvex or the upper surface somewhat flat to slightly concave, laxly to densely and irregularly marked with white, oblong spots on both sides but denser on the upper; the spots occasionally arranged in transverse bands; margins armed with pungent teeth about 4 mm long. Inflorescences up to 60 cm high, 2 or more developing successively on one plant in a season, usually 2-4-branched in the upper half. Peduncle light grey-green with a thin bloom, rather stout, somewhat compressed, about 22 x 17 mm thick; branches bearing 1-8 sterile bracts and subtended by 2 large bracts; bracts up to 4 cm long, 1-2.5 cm broad at the base, tapering to the acute apex, subchartaceous, several-to many-nerved. Raceme densely corymbose-capitate, at first with a central conical apex bristling with the subulate apices of the floral bracts, about 6 cm long, eventually elongating to 12 cm, 6-7 cm diam. Floral bracts up to 30 mm long, attenuate from a 5 mm broad base. Pedicels arcuate-erect to erect, the lower up to 3 cm long. Perianth pale whitish-green (ivory R.C.S.) becoming tinged with pale to deep shell-pink, more or less cylindrical, rounded at base (not stipitate), sometimes slightly constricted above the ovary, widening very slightly in the upper half and, before opening, slightly upturned at the apex, about 17 mm long, united into a tube for about 10 mm, with the lobes 5-7 mm long; outer lobes 2-5 mm broad, all with the apices spreading-recurved, 3-4-nerved along the keel. Filaments yellow to orange, anthers subexserted. Stigma at length exserted, 19-20 mm long. Ovary green, thinly pruinose, 10.5 mm long, 2.5 mm broad, obscurely 6-lobed, rounded at the apex. Capsule erect, 1.8 x l.2 cm, faintly 6-lobed, obtuse at the apex.
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Plants stemless, 150-250 mm tall excluding inflorescence, usually solitary. Leaves 16-30, 140-200 x 40-80 mm, biconvex to slightly channelled, both surfaces with few to many white spots, usually irregular, sometimes in transverse bands, denser on upper surface. Inflorescence with 2-5 ultimate branches, ±600 mm tall; racemes dense, capitate; bracts deltoid-cirrhous, 15-30 x 3-5 mm, ±7-nerved. Flowers greenish white becoming tinged with pink, 13-17 mm long; segments free for almost half their length; pedicels 12-30 mm long, erect. Anthers not or hardly exserted. Ovary 4.0-10.0 x 2.0-2.5 mm, green; style not or hardly exserted. Fruit 14-18 x 10-12 mm, grey. Seeds ±4.0 x 2.5 x 1.0 mm, hardly winged, brown.
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