Small succulent forming diffuse clump 150-300 mm diam. with few relatively stout stems. Stems 50-200 mm long, 8-15 mm thick, decumbent, shortly pubescent, green suffused with purple; tubercles 3-5 mm long, widely spaced along stem and obtusely conical, sometimes joined into 4 obtuse angles (sometimes with groove between them) and then stem ± square in cross-section, randomly arranged along flowering stem; leaf-rudiments ±1.5 mm long. Inflorescences pubescent, 1-6 per stem mainly in upper half (but occasionally lower), each with 2-8 flowers opening in close succession (often with 2 or more open together) on short stout peduncle <5 mm long; pedicel 2-6 mm long, 1.5-2.0 mm thick, purplish, spreading and holding flower facing horizontally or upwards; sepals 3-5 mm long, 1.5-2.0 mm broad at base, lanceolate, purplish. Corolla 25-35 mm diam., rotate; outside green to purplish usually with 1-3 prominent (not raised) longitudinal veins on each lobe; inside densely and irregularly but ± transversely rugulose, upper surfaces of these rugulosities white especially towards centre (purple or becoming suffused with purple towards apices of lobes), rest purple-brown, glabrous except at margins of lobes and base of tube; tube ±1.5 mm long, 3 mm broad, pentagonal, steep-sided alongside stipe of gynostegium, mainly caused by annulus-like thickening of central part of corolla, usually with row of short spike-like and erect papillae near base; lobes 10-15 mm long, 5-7 mm broad at base, spreading, narrowly to broadly ovate, acuminate, convex above from revolute margins adorned with row of short (<0.5 mm long) white to purple spike-like papillae. Corona ±3.0-4.5 mm tall, ±4-5 mm broad, raised on obtusely pentagonal stipe 1.0-1.5 mm tall, yellow to orange-brown dotted with brown; outer lobes ±1.5 mm long, spreading ± at mouth of tube, sparsely pubescent, subquadrate or tapering to truncate emarginate or subacute apex, very slightly channelled down upper surface; inner lobes 1.5-3.0 mm long, adpressed to backs of anthers but abruptly recurved near tips of them, dorsiventrally flattened in lower half becoming nearly terete above, narrowly ovate, acuminate, sparsely pubescent, with spreading to ascending laterally flattened triangular to quadrate-emarginate (toothed or crenate) dorsal wing near base.
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Clump-forming, pubescent succulent, up to 200 x 300 mm, stems leafless, 4-angled, softly tuberculate, up to 15 mm diam. Flowers developing in succession, in 1-6 subterminal, ± sessile clusters of 2-8, pedicels 2-6 mm long. Corolla rotate and distinctly thickened around corona, pubescent outside, densely rugulose and ± glabrous inside, 25-35 mm diam., inside purple with white on ridges, tube ± lacking, lobes spreading, ovate, 10-15 x 5-7 mm. Corona ± orange, pubescent, outer lobes subquadrate, spreading, inner adpressed to anthers then recurved above them, with a spreading dorsal wing.
Leafless, finely hairy succulent with 4-angled stems 8-15 mm diam., forming diffuse clumps, 6-25 cm; sap clear. Flowers 25-35 mm diam., dark purple-brown becoming whitish in centre, transversely rugulose, petals ciliate, corona finely hairy.
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