A stout, erect herb up to 50 cm. tall.. Stems brownish red, thickly hairy below with short brown hairs, becoming less so above, or glabrous throughout.. Ocreae 7–8 mm. long, hairy as the stem, truncate, terminally fringed with setae 5–6 mm. long, the leaf inserted a little above the middle.. Leaves sessile to shortly petiolate, elliptic, 35–45 × 9–13 mm., acute with a terminal mucro 0.5 mm. long, ± evenly narrowed to each end or more shortly so to the base, shortly and varyingly hairy on both surfaces but especially thickly on the midrib and veins below and on the margin, sometimes glabrous throughout.. Petioles 0–6 mm. long.. Inflorescence stout, up to and mainly 2 mm. thick (sicc.).. Bracts 4–6 mm. long, up to 7 cm. apart, truncate but dorsally produced into a narrow-lanceolate point 4 mm. long with 2 lateral setae on each side.. Pedicels 2–4 together, those of the fruit exceeding the bracts by 5 mm.. Flowers showy, 7–9 (? more) mm. across.. Short-styled flowers: tepals 3 mm. long, ovate to oblong; styles 2 (–1.5) mm. long, connate for just under half their length (or free to the base), reddish.. Long-styled flowers: tepals 4 mm., styles 4 mm. long, connate for 1 mm.. Fruit pubescent (glabrous fide Peter), fusiform, 9–10 m. long, with three prickles 3–4 mm. long spreading horizontally from the centre.
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