Bulb solitary, large, ovoid, 25-40 mm diam., with densely fibrous, light brown to cream-coloured outer tunics, whitish within; neck stout, up to 100 mm long. Leaves absent or incipient at anthesis, 2(-3), suberect to recurved, elliptical-lanceolate to broadly elliptical, 70-200 x (15-)30-60 mm, usually distinctly narrowed at the base to 5-10 mm across, light green, occasionally flushed with red towards the base of the abaxial surface, thin-textured with the edges often more or less undulate or conduplicate; margin smooth or minutely ciliate; apex subacute; amplexicaul cataphyll shortly exserted, green, soon dying back; non-amplexicaul prophyll subterranean. Inflorescence spreading widely, 60-100 mm across; scape stout, somewhat flexuose, 80-350 mm long, 2-5 mm diam., green to deep wine-red with a slight grey bloom, persisting throughout fruiting and breaking loose thereafter; spathe valves lanceolate, 23-30 x 3-6 mm; bracteoles up to 5 mm long. Flowers (7-)11-24, spreading, shallowly campanulate, glistening, white with a wine-red median dorsal stripe on each tepal, turning translucent with age, with a strong spicy scent; pedicels straight to upwardly curved, 20-66 mm long, varying from reddish green to pink or deep wine-red. Tepals free to the base, upwardly curved in the proximal half, outspread in the distal half, ovate-lanceolate, 8-13 x 4.0-6.5 mm, distinctly clawed at the base forming conspicuous windows 1.5 mm wide between adjacent tepals, usually conduplicate towards the apex of the inner whorl. Stamens equalling the tepals, spreading; filaments separate, subulate, up to 8 mm long, adnate to the broadened style base, somewhat bulbous proximally, subulate towards the apex; anthers subcentrifixed, about 4 mm long before opening, wine-red; pollen cream-coloured. Ovary with up to 3-5(-6) ovules per locule. Style up to 10 mm long, more or less equalling the stamens, broad and depressed-conoidal basally, elongated into an evenly tapered terete column distally. Seeds 2.5-3.0 mm diam.
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Bulbous geophyte to 35 cm. Leaves 2, rarely 3, usually dry at flowering, suberect, broadly elliptic, abruptly narrowed towards base, glabrous, pale green. Flowers 7-24, on long spreading pedicels, star-shaped, white with wine-red stripes on reverse, strongly scented, tepals clawed at base.
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