Moraea ciliata Ker Gawl.

Plants acaulescent, mostly 100-200 mm high. Corn mostly 12-15 mm diam.; tunics of medium to coarse pale or rarely dark brown fibres, sometimes (subsp. ciliata) extending upward as a collar of fibres. Stem subterranean even in fruit, occasionally with 1 or 2 sessile branches at ground level, sometimes with axillary cormlets. Leaves 3 or 4 (rarely up to 6) including leaf-like outer spathe, inserted at ground level, often exceeding inflorescence, usually slender, ± ascending to falcate and somewhat twisted, usually exceeding inner spathe, channelled, 5-12(-25) mm wide when opened flat, smooth or softly hairy, margins often undulate, rarely slightly crisped, short to long ciliate, straight, undulate or crisped. Rhipidia solitary (or 2 or 3); inner spathe usually sparsely hairy (smooth), 35-140 mm long. Flowers fugaceous, blue to blue-grey, white, yellow or pale pink, outer tepal claws sometimes dark blue to purple, limbs with small yellow nectar guides at bases outlined dark blue to violet, purple or brown, heavily scented of vanilla; outer tepals lanceolate, (18-)20-35 mm x 5-8 mm, claws (7.5-)10.0-17.0 mm long (slightly shorter to ± as long as limb); inner tepals 15-32 mm long, linear-spathulate to narrowly lanceolate, limbs spreading to half reflexed. Filaments 5-10 mm long, united basally for 1.5-2.0 mm or for almost half their length; anthers 4-8 mm long, blue or white; pollen white to yellow. Ovary spindle-shaped, (6-)10-14 mm long, retracted after flowering; style branches (7-)9-16 mm long, crests (6-)8-15 mm long. Capsules 10-28 mm long, enclosed in bases of spathes, walls ± membranous-translucent. Seeds ± globose, 1.4-2.5 mm diam.