Piaranthus atrosanguineus (N.E.Br.) Bruyns

Stems 20-150 mm long, 8-20 mm thick, dull green to grey often mottled with purple; tubercles ± rectangular, laterally flattened, joined into 4 (very rarely 5) angles up stem, each bearing towards apex a narrowly deltoid leaf-rudiment 3-6 mm long with 2 stipular denticles at its base, leaf-rudiments soon drying out, often persisting as weak whitish spinescent husk. Inflorescences usually 1 per stem, arising in upper half, of 1-3 flowers developing in gradual succession, occasionally with small peduncle up to 5 mm long with several lanceolate laterally toothed bracts 1.5-3.0 mm long; pedicel 5-7 mm long, 2 mm thick, ascending, pinkish; sepals 6-9 mm long, 2 mm broad at base, lanceolate, acuminate, spreading in upper half, pale grey-green. Corolla 40-45 mm diam., rotate; outside glabrous, grey-green mottled with purple; inside deep maroon to brown sometimes becoming beige towards tips of lobes and rarely mottled with cream around mouth of tube, faintly transversely rugulose on lobes and finely papillate; tube 3-7 mm long, ±8-10 mm broad at mouth, cupular, with corolla considerably thickened around mouth below sinuses of lobes, pentagonal; lobes 15-18 mm long, 9-12 mm broad at base, narrowly ovate, acute, spreading to slightly reflexed, convex above from slightly recurved margins, eciliate. Corona 10-13 mm tall (including inner lobes), 6-7 mm broad, ± without basal stipe, covered with sweat-like droplets of nectar on outer lobes and bases of inner lobes; outer lobes <2 mm long, divided into 2 short truncate sometimes somewhat papillate flaps often somewhat pressed together between inner lobes, pale orange-yellow; inner lobes 8-10 mm long, incumbent on backs of anthers then rising up and finally spreading to recurved, linear-terete to slightly laterally flattened and sometimes spirally twisted above, obtuse, pale orange-yellow below becoming cream to white (rarely pale brown) above.