Deciduous geophyte, 90-260 mm high. Rhizome short, vertical; roots swollen, fused above with rhizome, split below into obovoid tubers tapering to wiry, lanate roots or some of the roots thin, wiry and swollen at the tips, firm-textured, dark brown with a leathery periderm, not staining purple when pressed. Cataphylls surrounding shoots as well as leaf-and scape-bases, papery, white, 6-30 mm long. Leaves 3-10, erect, linear to lanceolate, transversely plicate or coiled through several turns, rarely straight, 50-200 x 2-15 mm, glabrous with muricate margins or entire surface muricate, often glaucous. Inflorescence paniculate with many, divaricate branches, peduncle suberect, often slightly curved, terete, 3-6 mm diam. at base, glabrous or scabrid; bracts ovate, white, membranous, 1.5-5.0 x 2-3 mm, ciliate; pedicels suberect, recurved in fruit, 3-8 mm long at anthesis, ultimately ± 4-10 mm long in fruit. Flowers patent, white or pale pink with brown or greyish midribs and paired yellow maculae near base, opening late afternoon, sweetly scented; tepals spreading but suberect and weakly clawed in basal± 1 mm, outer elliptical, 8-11 x 1.5-2.0 mm, inner narrowly obovate, 8-11 x 2-3 mm. Stamens dimorphic, suberect below but sometimes apically upcurved and lowermost filaments declinate; filaments filiform, white, outer ± 6 mm long, inner ± 7 mm long, retrorsely to patently scabrid but basal third of inner filaments often glabrous; anthers yellow, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Ovary elliptic, ± 1.0-1.5 mm long, brownish, with ± 10 ovules per locule; style upcurved apically, filiform, ±-6 mm long, white. Capsule ellipsoid, 4-8 x 2.5-4.0 mm, light brown. Seeds angular, ± 1.5-2.0 x 1.0-1.5 x 1 mm, grey-black to ochraceus, surface verrucose with wart-like idioblasts (sometimes visible as white spots) containing raphide crystals.
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Small plants up to 15 cm. Roots fused into a few long tubers and with some straggling thin, branched rootlets at the apex and tips. Rhizome small. Squamae membranous, broad surrounding shoot, leaf-and scape-base. Leaves 3-6, linear, up to 10 cm long, 6 mm broad, flat, long tapering to the apex, transversely, plicately folded, glabrous or minutely pubescent, glaucous, margin prominent. Inflorescence a divaricate panicle overtopping the leaves, side branches short 1-5: scape arcuate at the base, firm; bracts broad, auriculate, apiculate, membranous, shorter than the pedicels: pedicels up to 5 mm, recurved in fruit. Flowers with pale pink, maculate, spreading perianth segments, 1 cm long; filaments scabrous above, fimbriate below, declinate; ovary with 10 ovules per cell. Capsule narrow ovoid, 7 mm long. Seeds ridged.
Rhizomatous perennial, up to 200 mm tall, roots few, bulbous. Leaves few, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, transversely pleated, rarely plane. Flowers white or pale pink, spotted basally, nodding, in a compact, panicle. Capsules ellipsoidal, 5 mm long, on recurved pedicels.
Rhizomatous perennial to 20 cm, roots few, bulbous. Leaves few, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, undulate. Flowers in a compact, branched raceme, nodding, white. Fruits on spreading pedicels.
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