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Herb 20-60 cm tall. Corm to 1.8 cm diam., sometimes producing 1 or 2 stolons. Leaves 5-8, erect, linear to lanceolate, 10-35 cm long, 2-9 mm wide. Stem unbranched. Spike of 4 to many flowers crowded towards apex. Bracts ovate to oblong, often deeply toothed, 8-14 mm long, scarious, completely rust-red, densely brown-streaked or ±colourless at base. Flowers pale yellow to orange with dark reddish or purple centres. Perianth tube narrowly cylindrical, 5-8 mm long; lobes obtuse to acute, spreading, 1.5-3 cm long, 8-12 mm wide. Filaments often connate at base, 3-5 mm long; anthers 7-9 mm long. Ovary c. 4 mm long; style branches spreading at level of anthers, recurved, 3-5 mm long.
Grass-like, tufted. Corm globose, 1.5-(2.5) cm diam., tunic fibrous-membranous, creamy. Stems to 70 cm high, slender, wiry. Leaves 4-5-(8), narrow-linear, ± ⅔ length of stem, 3-6-(8) mm wide, erect, distinctly fine-veined. Spike short, axis ± flexuous, occasionally branched, with 4-12 close-set flowers; spathe-valves ± 1 cm long, membranous, very light red-brown. Flowers 4-5-(6.5) cm diam., cream to orange-yellow with dark brown to reddish-black circular patch in centre and usually ± reddish on outside, entirely cerise in some large plants often with branched inflorescence; tube (0.5)-1-1.5-(2) cm long, very narrow; lobes 2-2.5 cm long. Capsule 3.5-4 mm long, oblong, greenish.
Cormous geophyte, 20-50 cm, corms with short or long stolons, tunics membranous to papery. Leaves narrowly sword-shaped, bracts large, dry, rusty above or entirely. Flowers orange or yellow with shallow, dark brown cup often with star-like pattern in centre, tube filiform, filaments united below (rarely free), yellow.
