Brunsvigia comptonii W.F.Barker

Deciduous bulbous herb, up to 110 mm tall when flowering. Bulb solitary, hypogeal, ± ovoid, 20-40 x 20-40 mm, usually extended into a neck up to 50(-70) x 20 mm, inner tunics fleshy to papery, cream-coloured, outer tunics brittle, tan-coloured. Leaves 2-4(5), absent or emerging at flowering, adpressed to ground, upper 2 ± opposite at first, later deflected sideways, narrowly to broadly ovate, subacute or obtuse, 45-80 x 10-30 mm, adaxial surface covered with micropapillae and conical macropapillae, abaxial surface smooth, margin plain. Inflorescence 4-13(-20)-flowered, a little less than hemispherical at anthesis, 45-80 mm diam., enlarging slightly in fruit up to 50-120 mm diam.; scape erect, up to 75 mm long, compressed-elliptical in transverse section, ±4-8 mm wide, reddish brown; spathe valves 2, oblong-lanceolate, 18-30 x 3-6 mm, membranous, reddish brown, soon reflexed and papery; bracteoles filiform; pedicels of outer flowers straight, those of inner flowers often geniculate immediately below ovary, 10-25 x ±2 mm, trigonous, reddish brown lengthening up to 32 mm in fruit. Perigone zygomorphic, pale pink with a distinct darker midrib or deep pink with 3 darker central veins, greenish at base; tube up to 0.5 mm long; tepals recurved, either all curving towards upper half of flower or 1 spreading slightly downwards and widely separated from others, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 15-27 x 2.5-5.0 mm, margin sometimes undulate; stamens of various lengths, ±3/4 as long as tepals to slightly longer, deflexed slightly below horizontal plane at anthesis or markedly so in flowers with pedicels geniculate below ovary, upturned distally; filaments shortly fused near base and tightly clustered in lower half, pale to dark pink, often darker towards base, with or without lateral appendages near base, appendages either minute or forming a tapering or apically pointed wing up to 5 mm long; anthers oblong, ±4 mm long before dehiscence, maroon; pollen cream-coloured. Ovary ±3-angled, ±3-4 mm diam., reddish brown, with 3 or 4 ovules per locule; style slender, up to ±35 mm long, included in stamen cluster for ± half its length, strongly upturned in distal quarter, extending well beyond stamens, pale pink; stigma shortly trifid, papillate. Capsule cordiform, 10-15 x 10-13 mm, septa without ribbing, dehiscing for ± two thirds or more below apex, walls ± papery, ± translucent, without conspicuous cross-veining. Seeds subglobose, ±3 mm diam., fleshy.