Plants rosulate, biennial to perennial, arising from one or more rosettes up to a height of 35 cm. Leaves congested and 4-ranked along the stem, ovate to almost round, flat at the base but horizontal to curved upwards along the stem, flat to slightly canaliculate above and flat to convex below, decreasing gradually in length upwards, imbricate but with internodes becoming visible with age and onset of flowering, glabrous, with hydathodes on both upper and lower surface, apex acute to obtuse, margins with recurved cilia. Inflorescence an elongate thyrse, with sessile dichasia subtended by leaves along the upper two-thirds of the stem. Flowers 3-7 per cymule, 2.5-3.0 mm long, sessile to pedicillate, tubular but opening slightly on maturity. Calyx a third to half the length of flower, lobes triangular to lanceolate, acute, glabrous to sparsely papillose, margins coarsely to sparsely toothed, terminating in 2 or 3 elongate teeth apically. Petals translucent to white, green at base and papillose mesially on underside, erect, oblong with incurved beak and a low casque-like terminal appendage. Squamae square to oblong, slightly cuneate and emarginate, translucent yellow to orange-brown. Carpels pyriform, styles absent and stigma large to very large, dorsolateral.
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