Strumaria gemmata Ker Gawl.

Bulb solitary or sometimes forming bulblets, ovoid to globose, 10-35 mm diam., with lightly fibrous brownish outer tunics, yellowish within; neck up to 45 mm long, occasionally lacking. Leaves absent or incipient at anthesis, 2, recurved to prostrate, varying from broadly to narrowly elliptical to lorate, 40-90(-200) x 5-25 mm, with long, soft hairs covering the adaxial surface or occasionally the margins only, rarely entirely glabrous, with minutely ciliate margins, subtended by a subterranean amplexicaul cataphyll and non-amplexicaul prophyll. Inflorescence widely spreading, 50-220 mm across; scape straight to somewhat flexuose, 50-400 mm long, 1-3 mm diam., pale green to wine-red with a grey bloom, breaking off at the base in fruit; spathe valves lanceolate, 10-25 x 2-3 mm; bracteoles up to 7 mm long. Flowers (2-)6-14, spreading, stellate, pale lemon or occasionally cream-coloured, with a thickened green midrib, flushed with wine-red dorsally, becoming reddish with age, scentless; pedicels inwardly curved to straight, 40-85 mm long, leaden-grey to wine-red. Tepals free to the base, outspread, oblanceolate, 4-8 x 2.5-3.5 mm, shortly clawed, bearing a solid shiny translucent gibbosity at the base of the ventral surface, more or less crisped and involute on the edges. Stamens equalling the tepals, spreading; filaments separate, adnate to the broadened style base, somewhat bulbous proximally, subulate above, up to 5 mm long; anthers subcentrifixed, 2-3 mm long before opening, lemon to reddish pink; pollen pale lemon. Ovary with up to 3-5 ovules per locule. Style up to 6 mm long, equalling the stamens, tapering smoothly upwards from a broad obscurely conoidal base. Seeds about 2 mm diam.