Catopsis nutans Griseb.

Plant 14-40 cm. high. Leaves about 10 in a subfasciculate rosette, to 24 cm. long, obscurely punctulate-lepidote, white-cretaceous especially toward base; sheaths elliptic, about half as long as the blades; blades subtriangular, acu-minate, 25 mm.-wide. Scape usually decurved, slender. Scape-bracts erect, lanceolate or elliptic, acuminate, typ-ically much shorter than the inter-nodes. Inflorescence simple or rarely few-branched. Primary bracts like the scape-bracts, shorter than the sterile naked base of the spike. Spikes laxly 3-to 15-flowered, to 2 dm. long. Rhachis nearly or quite straight, an-gled, glabrous. Floral bracts broadly ovate or elliptic, obtuse or broadly acute, the lower ones barely shorter than the sepals, the upper much shorter. Flowers perfect, erect to spreading. Sepals strongly asymmetric, broadly elliptic, obtuse, 15 mm. long, submembranaceous, nerved, glabrous. Petals ligulate with flaring blade, 2 cm. long, broadly acute or obtuse, bright yellow. Stamens unequal. Ovary ovoid, stout. Style very short but distinct. Capsule ovoid, long-beaked, 15-20 mm. long.