Cyrtanthus aureolinus Snijman

Semi-evergreen, bulbous geophyte, 220-300 mm tall when flowering. Bulb solitary, hypogeal, ovoid, up to 30-45 x 25-30 mm, narrowed to a slender neck 40-60 x 8-15 mm; outer tunics brown and papery; inner tunics cream-coloured and fleshy. Leaves developing sequentially, either absent or 2 or 3 newly emerging at flowering, finally up to 4, strap-shaped, up to 300 x 5-9 mm, suberect to recurved, ± channelled, glabrous; abaxial surface with 3 or 4 prominent median veins, not keeled; margin smooth. Inflorescence 4-10-flowered, solitary or occasionally 2 per bulb; scape erect, up to 250 mm long, 5-8 mm diam. at base, tapering distally up to 4-6 mm at apex, round to slightly compressed in t/s, green with a reddish blush towards base, hollow; spathe valves 2, outer sheathing inner at base, lanceolate, exceeding the pedicels, up to 45-65 x 7-9 mm (at base), membranous, suberect and flushed ox-blood red when fresh, later turning brown and reflexing; bracteoles several, linear, up to 15 mm long; pedicels suberect to slightly spreading, up to 40 x 1.5 mm at anthesis, lengthening up to 50 mm and becoming more rigid when fruiting, green to pale brown. Flowers erect to spreading slightly above the horizontal, opening sequentially, sulphur-yellow, sometimes with 6 diffuse green median bands from perigone base to tepal tips, firm, unscented, apparently without nectar; perigone tube dilated gradually to throat, straight or slightly curved distally, 29-40 mm long, ± 3 mm diam. at base, widening gradually to 6-8 mm diam. at throat; tepals narrowly ovate, slightly spreading, neither reflexed nor rolled back, 12-15 x 5-7 mm, subacute at apex; outer tepals sometimes slightly narrower than inner, shortly mucronate. Stamens biseriate, regular, attached slightly below and in perigone throat, both whorls shortly exserted; outer filaments ± 5 mm long, attached ± 1 mm lower than inner; inner filaments ± 7 mm long; anthers dorsifixed, ± 4.5 mm long before dehiscing, yellow; pollen yellow. Ovary ellipsoidal, somewhat 3-angled, ± 5 x 2 mm, green; ovules axile, ± 25 per locule; style usually pressed against upper tepals, as long as or slightly longer than perigone, reaching up to 40 mm; stigmatic branches 3, spreading, slender, ± 2.0 x 0.5 mm, truncate, shortly papillate towards apex. Capsule ovoidal, ± 15 x 8 mm. Seeds unknown.