Moraea trifida R.C.Foster

Plants mostly 250-500 mm high. Corm 10-20 mm diam.; tunics of medium-textured, straw-coloured fibres. Stem simple or several branched, branches suberect, sheathing leaves 1 or 2(3), 50-60 mm long, with dry, brown, attenuate apices. Foliage leaf solitary, inserted well above ground; varying in length at flowering, ultimately up to 600 mm long, linear, channelled, 3-4 mm wide. Rhipidial spathes with dry, brown, apices, inner 40-70 mm long, outer 10-20 mm shorter. Flowers long-lived, pale yellow to creamy white, dotted brown to green; outer tepals lanceolate, 15-20 x 5-10 mm, limb 8-10 mm long reflexed to 60º, claws suberect; inner tepals up to 15 mm long, 3-lobed, lateral lobes, short, obtuse, inner linear, ± erect, 5-7 mm long. Filaments 7-9 mm long, free in upper 1.5 mm; anthers ± 4 mm long, often exceeding style branches, brown; pollen yellow. Ovary ± cylindric, 7-10 mm long; style branches ± 4 mm long, crests ± linear, up to 4 mm long. Capsules ovoid-elliptic, 18-20 mm long. Seeds angular prismatic.