Plants 150-400(-500) mm high. Corms deep-seated, 25-30 mm diam., tunics of coarsely netted, wiry or woody fibres, not or extending shortly into a fibrous neck to 20 mm long, pale brown or grey. Basal leaves 4-9(-12), suberect or spreading, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 60-200(-250) x (2-)4-15(-25) mm, acute to attenuate, plane, canaliculate or rarely involute, with prominent midrib and ribbed veins abaxially, firm-textured, usually glabrous but veins sometimes scabridulous or puberulous to villous abaxially with hairs up to 1 mm long, rarely both surfaces densely puberulous thoughout, margins ± undulate or crispulate, usually ciliolate-scabridulous, sometimes flushed purple basally. Inflorescence a moderately dense raceme up to 25-flowered, with 2-4 branches, rarely with second order branchlets and thus paniculate, lower flowers 0.3-0.6 times pedicel length apart; pedicels usually geniculate, horizontal in basal 1/2 or 2/3 then aburptly flexed upwards at ± right angles, rarely suberect or arcuate, mostly 20-30 mm long; bracteoles mostly inserted between lower and upper third, rarely subbasal. Flowers facing outwards, pale to deep mauve or blue, rarely white or pink, fragrant; tepals spreading, ovate to obovate, 8-10 x 3-4 mm, apiculate. Stamens dimorphic, 5 + 1; filaments of posterior cluster 1.0-2.5 mm long, outer sometimes slightly longer than inner, connate ± halfway or almost completely into tube 1.0-2.0 mm long, yellow, sometimes with small intrastaminal lobules between bases of filaments, anthers 1.5-2.0(-2.8) mm long, yellow; anterior stamen with filament ± 1 mm long, connate to upper cluster for ± half length, anther 2.5-4.0 mm long, yellow. Ovary half inferior, style medially deflexed, 3-4 mm long, not extending beyond anthers. Capsules erect on geniculate pedicels, subglobose, 5-6 mm diam., 3-lobed and retuse. Seeds ovoid, ± 2 mm diam., rugulose.
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Annual or perennial herb with globose corm; neck of corm 7–15 cm long; leaves and inflorescence annual. Leaves 6–8, linear, 15–30+ cm long. Inflorescence an openly branched raceme to 40 cm high; bracts lanceolate; pedicels curved, to 2.5 cm long. Flowers slightly zygomorphic. Perianth segments oblong, 6–12 mm long, white, pale violet, pink or lilac-purple. Sepals 5-nerved. Petals 3-nerved. Stamens yellow, dimorphic, 5 curved with anthers 1.5–2 mm long and 1 declinate with large sessile anther c. 3 mm long. Style equal to anthers. Capsule globose.
Cormous geophyte, 250-400 mm tall. Leaves linear to lanceolate, glabrous to finely pubescent. Flowers on ± horizontally spreading pedicels in a dense raceme, blue or mauve, rarely white, zygomorphic, fragrant, tepals 8-10 mm; anthers yellow, 5 upper and 1 larger lower, filaments connate ± halfway, sometimes with minute inter-staminodal teeth.
A herb. It develops a corm. It can grow as an annual or keep growing from year to year. It grows 15-35 cm high. There are several slender leaves develop from the corm. The corm has a long neck. The flowers are white, pink, purple or lilac. They have a scent. There are 5 small stamen above and one large stamen below.
Cormous geophyte, 25-40 cm. Leaves linear-lanceolate, smooth to finely or roughly hairy. Flowers in branched racemes, mauve, sometimes white, stamens bright yellow, fragrant, pedicels geniculate, with 5 upper and 1 larger lower stamen, filaments fused ± halfway.
In Australia recorded growing in sandy soil, peaty sand, ironstone gravel, on hillside, road verges, in coastal dunes and at the edge of a woodland.
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It grows in warm temperate places. It grows on black peaty sand and dunes. It can grow in arid places.
Mostly found on clay and granite slopes, often in renosterveld.
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