Plants caulescent, solitary when young, later proliferating from the base to form small clusters, slow-growing, herbaceous, succulent perennials. Stems initially erect or suberect, occasionally becoming decumbent with age. Branches-developing from the base, rarely reaching to 40 cm in length. Leaves 20-40 x 12-25 mm at widest fleshy part above base, narrowly deltoid, arranged in 5 vertical ranks [quinquefarious], usually spirally-twisted and appearing imbricate; dark green with grey or brown hues, usually with a distinctly glossy sheen, becoming grey-brown in full sun, surface markings variable, usually glabrous, sometimes with occasional white, often elongated, spots or tubercles, often with faint dark striations near the leaf apex; leaves suberect, rarely patent-erect; keels and margins cartilaginous, usually white, margins continuous up until apex; apex curving outwards, occasionally following the angle of the leaf, acuminate or attenuate, mucronate. Inflorescence robust, unbranched, pedunculated, racemose, 10-30 cm long, very rarely up to 50 cm long; peduncle 2-9 bracts below raceme, flowers sessile or sometimes slightly pedicellate, spirally arranged flowers arising in the axils of colourless, membranous, tapering, clasping bracts in upper half; peduncle usually 5-10 mm wide at base; spent peduncles persistent, remaining on the plants for a long time; pedicels 0-0.5 mm long, usually sessile, 1.0-1.5 mm in diameter. Flowers 6-10 x 2.5-4.0 mm, unevenly distributed in raceme, l-9 mm apart, ascending-spreading, tepals fused to form a tube, lobes white never yellow), midribs visible as darker-tinted grey stripes, outer 3 tepals overlap the inner 3; tube slightly narrowing towards the tip before the free portions of the lobes flare; lobes free, recurved, outer lobes more recurved than inner lobes; stamens 5.0-8.5 mm long; ovary 3-4 mm long; style 2.0-3.5 mm long. Fruit an ovoid, cylindrical, trilocular capsule, 10 x 5 mm, pale glaucous-green, upturned and retaining dried sheath of the dead flower at the tip. Seed dark brown to black, angled, with slight wing, 2-3 x 1.0-1.5 mm, including wing. Flowering time: Winter to early spring in the southern hemisphere, May to October, peaking in July and August.
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