Moraea gracilenta Goldblatt

Plants 300-800 mm high. Corm 15-20 mm diam.; tunics of fine to medium-textured, pale or dark brown fibres. Stem with long basal internode, many-branched, sheathing leaves 25-35 mm long, dry and brown distally. Foliage leaf solitary, channelled, linear, exceeding stem and trailing distally, inserted well above ground at first aerial node. Rhipidial spathes becoming dry above, apices brown, acute; inner 25-35(-40) mm long, outer slightly < 1/2 as long. Flowers fugaceous, pale blue-mauve, outer tepal limbs with yellow nectar guides at bases, strongly vanilla-scented; outer tepals 20-30 x ± 8 mm, lanceolate, laxly spreading; inner tepals 18-28 x 5-6 mm, limbs laxly spreading. Filaments ± 5 mm long, united in lower half; anthers 4-6 mm long, white; pollen white. Ovary narrowly ellipsoid, 8-10 mm long, usually partly included at anthesis; style branches 7-9 mm long, crests linear-lanceolate, 7-12 mm long. Capsules mostly 10-12 mm long, shortly beaked. Seeds angular.