Ixia calendulacea Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Plants 200-500 mm high. Corm depressed-globose, 12-16 mm diam., bearing horizontal stolons up to 120 mm long, ± 1.5 mm diam., each bearing a terminal cormlet 8-9 mm diam.; outer tunics fibrous with fibres mostly oriented vertically, sometimes accumulating. Stem usually unbranched, robust plants often with a node in upper 1/3 bearing a short branch or dry, attenuate scale sheathing only at base and often curved back against stem. Leaves (3)4 to 6, lanceolate, lowermost largest, 2/3-3/4 as long as stem, mostly (8-)12-20 mm wide, often twisted in one or two rotations, upper leaves decreasing in size above, uppermost ± entirely sheathing. Spike flexuose, mostly 5-to 8-flowered; bracts (6-)8-12 mm long, dry, white-translucent below, brown in upper half or third, outer ± truncate or bilobed with a short central tooth, becoming ± lacerate, inner 2-veined, forked into attenuate cusps ± 2 mm long. Flowers shallowly cupped when fully open, orange with brown or dull red central marking usually with translucent reddish halo; perianth tube cylindric, 5-8(-10) mm long; tepals subequal, ascending, overlapping slightly when fully open, (18-)22-30 x 11-15 mm, outer ± 2 mm wider than inner. Filaments 3-4 mm long, united in lower 1/2 or entirely (rarely ± free), dark red-brown (often drying violet but ultimately losing colour); anthers ascending, 9-11 mm long, yellow. Style dividing between base and lower 1/3 anthers, branches (3-)4 mm long.