Moraea cooperi Baker

Plants 150-250 mm high. Corm 10-15 mm diam.; tunics of dark brown, coarse fibres. Stem flexuose, usually 2-or 3-branched from upper nodes, with cataphylls forming a brown, fibrous collar around base. Foliage leaves 2 or 3, lowermost basal and longest, exceeding stem, remaining leaves cauline and progressively smaller, blades linear, channelled, ± 3 mm wide when opened flat; leaves subtending ± bract-like and dry distally not sheathing above. Rhipidial spathes green, at anthesis becoming dry and brown distally, attenuate; inner spathe 30-50 mm long, outer ± half as long, entirely sheathing. Flowers fugaceous, solitary in spathes, pale yellow finely veined with dull brown-purple, outer tepal limbs with yellow nectar guides at bases; tepals united in tube ± 10 mm long, limbs laxly spreading, lanceolate, 33-40 x 20 mm, claw ± 10-14 mm long (inner tepals absent). Filaments ± 6 mm long, united in lower 1-2 mm; anthers 7-9 mm long, light purple; pollen yellow. Ovary 10-12 mm long, included in middle of spathes; style branches 12-15 mm long, crests up to 10 mm long. Capsules narrowly ellipsoid, 25-30 mm long. Seeds compressed, elongate, winged at opposite ends, ± 4 mm long.