Perennial geophytic herb with milky latex. Underground organ fleshy, rounded and turnip-shaped to elongated napiform tuber, 30-110 x 4-23 mm, neck cylindrical, 5-66 mm long, rarely branched, pale cream-coloured with fibrous outer layer. Stem erect, rarely branched, if branched then not from base, sparsely to densely foliate, villous, 70-360(-530) mm tall. Leaves opposite to sub-opposite, decussate, sometimes three-whorled becoming alternate towards the apex, usually 6-11 pairs, simple, erect to spreading erect; lamina narrowly oblong to lanceolate, 12-70 x 2-12 mm, basal 1 or 2 pairs of leaves shorter than the rest, then becoming gradually shorter toward the apex, hirsute, hairs sparsely distributed, base obtuse to somewhat truncate or asymmetrical to oblique, apex acute to attenuate, margins revolute, paler below with fewer hairs, midvein prominent, smooth to scabrid or hirsute, slightly incurved adaxial, bulged out and prominent abaxially, paler in contrast to abaxial surface; petiole 1-4 mm long, sparsely pubescent. Inflorescence mostly in solitary and terminal sessile umbels 28-45 mm in diameter, rarely a second umbel developing from the basal inflorescence then with a short peduncle 2-4 mm long; rarely in particularly robust plants the stems may be two or three branched then umbels also terminal and sessile on branches; bracts filamentous-linear, (4-)5-8(-10) x 0.24-1.5 mm, scabrid dorsally, glabrous ventrally. Flowers 3-16 per umbel, 4-5 mm in diameter; pedicels, (3-)6-15(-18) mm long, puberulous, recurving after pollination, puberulous; calyx erect to spreading-erect, free, only fused at the base, lobes ovate to lanceolate, acute, usually half as long as the corolla, 4-8 x 1-1.5 mm, apex acute, ventral surface glabrous, dorsal surface with scabrid hairs at base, dark olive-green to greyish; corolla divided to the base, spreading erect to recurved at anthesis, soon rolled up or coiled after anthesis; lobes ovate to lanceolate, 5-8 x 2.5-4 mm, apex acute, ventrally glabrous and dorsally sparsely scabrid towards the base and middle of the lobe; outside maroon or purplish to greyish green and rarely striated, paler greenish inside; staminal corona arising at the base of the gynostegial column; lobes free, erect, dorsiventrally flattened; lobe 5-11 x 4-8 mm with two divided appendages on ventral face, apically randomly fimbriate to serrated; lower ventral appendage ovoid, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-ligulate, 3-4 x 1.4-2.2 mm; upper ventral appendage 0.49-1.44 x 0.10-0.34 mm with globose papillae near base, obtuse with two keels on the lateral sides, apex variously fimbriate; lobes much longer than the staminal column, pure white or cream with pink-maroon tinge on rare occasions; staminal column cylindrical or barrel-shaped, 1.8-2.3 x 1.6-1.9 mm, white; stamens with anther-wings triangular, broadest in the base, 0.8-1.2 x 0.3 mm wide extending 0.2-0.3 mm outward; anther appendages ovate, broadly ovate, obtuse with tips erect-inflexed over the style-apex, apex obtuse to acute; style-apex rounded to rounded-conical and concave at apex, exceeding the anthers, white; pollinaria with pollinia oblong and slightly curved, 0.47-0.53 x 0.15-0.16 mm; caudicle horizontal orientated in anther-sac, 0.12-0.22 x 0.02-0.08 mm, widely diverging, affixed at the base to the corpusculum and terminally to the pollinium, flat and ribbon-like at attachment with corpusculum becoming broad and flat at attachment with pollinia; corpusculum oblong, elongated-ovoid to ovoid, sub-acute, 0.23-0.30 mm long. Fruit fusiform, 70-76 x ca. 12 mm, broadest in the middle, outer surface echinate with soft prickles to 3 mm long, green; seed (immature?) 1.5 x 2 mm with coma 15-18 mm long, white; fruiting pedicel recurved.
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