Corm ovoid, entire, with brown tunics, protracted into a neck 8-15 cm long. Cataphyll apically truncate and mucronate-apiculate. Stem above-ground part 5-20 cm high, simple or forked (sometimes 3-branched). Leaves 3-4, erecto-patent or spreading, narrowly lanceolate, long attenuate, rather straight and evenly tapering to a somewhat abruptly mucronate apex, 6-15 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, with crisped-undulate margins. Raceme broadly oblong-pyramidal, overtopping the leaves,6-16-flowered (rarely few-flowered), up to 12 cm long. Bracts suberect, linear-lanceolate, somewhat cuspidate, usually half as long as the pedicel or longer, lowermost one(s) up to 8 cm long and 6 mm wide. Perianth 1-2. in diam. Tepals 9-15 mm long; claw short and flattened, ca. 1 mm long and wide, adaxially light-coloured; blade up to 2 mm wide near the base, purple, with a darker nectary region, ca. 10-veined, acute. Filaments2-4 mm long, near the base abruptly and distinctly swollen, 1-1.5 mm thick, light-coloured, apically re-curved, filiform and purplish. Anthers 1.5-2 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, brown. Styles 4-6 mm long, spreading, light-coloured. Ovary rounded-pyriform, dark purplish-brown (when dried). Capsule oblong-pyriform, widening from a narrow base to ca. 1 cm broad, 1-1.5 cm long. Seeds (immature) globose-compressed, 3.5-4 mm in diam., light brown, ± smooth, with a prominent raphe.
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