Aristea compressa Buching. ex Baker

Plants 300-750 mm long. Stem flattened almost to apex, narrowly winged, several-to many-branched (one order), but never dichotomously, bearing sessile and stalked flower clusters. Leaves narrowly sword-shaped to linear, leathery, sometimes weakly pleated, mostly 8-12 mm wide, ± 1/2 as long as stem. Flower clusters many, sessile and stalked, each 2-to 4-flowered; spathes and bracts lanceolate, mostly 5-8 mm long, green or brown in midline, transparent in upper half, becoming torn. Flowers blue, outer tepals 8.5-11 x 3.5-3.5 mm, inner 9.5-11 x 5-7 mm. Filaments 2.5-4.5 mm long; anthers 1.8-2.5 mm long. Ovary on short pedicel 1-2 mm long; style ± 5 mm long, broadly 3-lobed, reaching middle or apex of anthers and slightly deflexed. Capsules ovoid, ± 5 x 4 mm long, mostly ± sessile. Seeds angular-prismatic, sculpturing foveate.