Hessea pilosula D.Müll.-doblies & U.Müll.-doblies

Bulb solitary, deep-seated, subglobose, 17-30 mm diam., with thinly fibrous light brown outer tunics, extended into a slender neck up to 120 mm long. Leaves absent or when cultivated sometimes incipient at anthesis, 2(-3), spreading, narrowly lorate, 70-170 x 1-5 mm, shallowly canaliculate to hemiterete, shiny green, often reddened proximally, with short patent trichomes covering both surfaces or the abaxial surface only, occasionally glabrous, subtended by a subterranean amplexicaul cataphyll and non-amplexicaul prophyll. Inflorescence dense and widely spreading, 50-90 mm across; scape flexuose, woody and slender at anthesis 25-65(-80) mm long, 0.5-2.0 mm diam., leaden-grey, flushed with pink proximally, breaking off at the base in fruit; spathe valves linear-lanceolate, 15-30 x 1.5-2.5 mm; bracteoles up to 3 mm long. Flowers 10-27, spreading, stellate, pale pink with a white or deeper pink centre, ageing to light brown, scentless; pedicels straight, 15-45 mm long, glaucous. Tepals almost free to the base or shortly adnate to the staminal tube for up to 1 mm, outspread above, oblong-lanceolate, 7.5-1.0 x 2-4 mm, slightly channelled towards the base with plane or occasionally somewhat undulate edges. Stamens shorter than the tepals by 3 mm or more, becoming outspread; filaments connate basally to form a short tube extending to 1.5 mm above the perigone throat and either equalling or exceeding the length of the perigone tube, subulate above; anthers centrifixed, 2 mm long and dark wine-red before opening; pollen cream-coloured. Ovary with up to 3 ovules per locule. Style up to 6 mm long, narrowly subtriquetrous throughout, with nectar collecting in a central well around the base. Seeds about 2.5 mm diam.