Plants (40-)70-200 mm high, usually branched. Corm 8-20 mm diam., asymmetric at base; tunics of tough coarse, usually dark fibres, often persisting as a collar around base. Stem 2 or 3 internodes long, branching from base or upper nodes, with 1 or 2 sheathing leaves 15-25 mm long, drying brown from tips. Foliage leaves basal only, or occasionally cauline, usually 3, occasionally 2 (or 1 in depauperate plants), channelled or ± flat, loosely coiled, margins ± undulate, sometimes lightly hairy on margins or on abaxial surface. Rhipidial spathes green or partly to largely dry, acute, often becoming lacerated, inner 15-30 mm long, outer entirely sheathing, ± 1/2 as long. Flowers fugaceous, either white to yellow, tepals then often flushed with violet or pink, OR blue-violet, outer tepal limbs with large yellow nectar guides at bases, laxly spreading to reflexed; outer tepals 24-30 x 15-25 mm long, claw ± 12 mm long, limb obtuse to retuse; inner tepals 15-30 mm long, usually ± erect, spathulate. Filaments 5-7 mm long, united near base or up to middle; anthers 3-5 mm long, violet or white; pollen white. Ovary ellipsoid, 5-6 mm long, included, style branches ± 6 mm long, crests 4-8 mm long, lanceolate. Capsules enclosed in spathes, club-shaped sometimes tapering to short beak, 8-10 mm long. Seeds angled.
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Cormous geophyte, 50-150 mm tall, few-branched. Leaves 2 or 3, linear, margins inrolled, twisted or coiled, sometimes hairy. Flowers enclosed in green to partly dry spathes, white and yellow, style branches and crests often flushed violet, prominent, outer tepals with yellow nectar guides, limbs spreading, inner tepals erect, broadest above, crests erect.
Cormous geophyte, 4-15 cm, branching mainly from base. Leaves 2 or 3, linear, margins inrolled, twisted or coiled. Flowers white and yellow, style branches and crests often flushed violet.
A herb. It is a bulb plant.
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