Trachyandra sanguinorhiza Boatwr. & J.C.Manning

Deciduous geophyte, 100-220 (-350) mm high. Rhizome short, vertical; roots swollen, fused above with rhizome, split below into turbinate tubers which taper to a wiry root, firm-textured, bright red with flaking, dark brown, leathery rind, lanate distally, staining purple when pressed. Cataphylls surrounding shoots as well as leaf-and scape-bases, papery, white tinged red, 10-25 mm long. Leaves 4-20, erect, filiform, bases pink, 80-240 x 0.5-1.0 mm, muricate, curled apically. Inflorescence a simple raceme or with 1 or 2 basal branches, peduncle suberect, often slightly curved, terete, 2-3 mm diam. at base, shortly pubescent; bracts ovate-acuminate, white, membranous, 6-8 x 3-4 mm, ciliate; pedicels erect in bud, 3-6 mm long at anthesis, ultimately ± 7-8 mm long in fruit, pilose. Flowers patent, pinkish-white with pinkish-brown midribs and paired greenish maculae near base, opening mid-morning and fading late afternoon, with a musky fragrance; tepals spreading but suberect and weakly clawed in basal ± 1 mm, outer elliptical, 8-10 x 1.5-2.0 mm, inner obovate, 8-9 x 2-3 mm. Stamens weakly dimorphic, suberect below but anthers sometimes upcurved and lower two filaments declinate; filaments filiform, white, outer ± 6 mm long, inner ± 7 mm long, distal two thirds retrorsely scabrid but basal third patent-scabrid, inner filaments with patent marginal scabrae longer, thus scabrid-ciliate in lower third; anthers yellow, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Ovary globose, ± 1.0-1.5 mm long, brownish, with ± 8 ovules per locule; style upcurved apically, filiform, ± 5-6 mm long, white. Capsule globose to obovoid, 3-5 x 3-5 mm wide, light brown. Seeds angular, ± 2 x 2x1 mm, black, surface verrucose with wart-like protuberances (which are sometimes visible as white spots) containing raphide crystals.