Plants (30-)50-75 cm. high.. Corm 8-15 mm. in diameter, tunics soft-membranous, fragmenting irregularly into narrow vertical strips, rarely becoming almost fibrous, light brown.. Leaves (3-)4-5, at least the lower 2 basal and largest, the upper 1-2 cauline and reduced, lanceolate to nearly linear, plane, 1/2-2/3 as long as the stem, not reaching the base of the spike, 4-12(-20) mm. at the widest, usually rather soft-textured ( Pappi 1677), the margins and midribs not thickened.. Stem simple or with 1-2 branches, ± 3 mm. in diameter at the base of the main spike.. Spike 2-7(-12)-flowered; bracts herbaceous, flushed red to purple, 1.8-2.4(-2.8) cm. long, the inner ± or less than 1/2 as long as the outer.. Flowers bright red(-orange-red) on the dorsal tepals, greenish fading to yellow on the lower tepals, the throat and tube, in life the tube included in the bracts; perianth-tube 1.1-1.6 cm. long, the lower part slender and erect, 5-8 mm. long, fairly abruptly expanded and curved outward into a cylindrical, ± horizontal upper part, 6-8 mm. long; tepals very unequal, the dorsal largest, extended horizontally 1.2-1.8(-2.2) cm. long, the upper laterals directed forward, lanceolate, 8-12(-14) mm. long, the lower tepals reduced, the laterals narrowly lanceolate, 6-8 mm. long, the lowermost a linear cusp 3-6 mm. long.. Filaments 1.6-2 cm. long, exserted 5-8 mm. from the tube; anthers 4.5-8 mm. long, reaching 1-2 mm. below the apex of the dorsal tepal.. Style ultimately reaching near to the apices of the anthers, the branches 3-4 mm. long, extended beyond the anthers and much expanded above.. Capsules globose-ovoid, (7-)9-12 mm. long.
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