Tridentea gemmiflora (Masson) Haw.

Small succulent up to 0.5(-1) m diam. Stems 50-150 mm long, 10-15 mm thick; tubercles 2-3 mm long; leaf-rudiments 5-10 mm long, subulate. Inflorescence with flowers developing in rapid to gradual succession on peduncle 5-20 mm long (rarely up to 40 mm); pedicels 30-50(-70) mm long, 2-3 mm thick, ascending to spreading and holding flowers facing ± horizontally to upwards; sepals ±5-6 mm long, 2.5-3.0 mm broad at base, acute, sometimes with few short stout colourless marginal cilia. Corolla 45-100 mm diam., ± rotate; outside green, often spotted with purple or brown coalescing towards apices of lobes, with 7 slightly darker almost parallel slightly impressed nerves on each lobe; inside brown to purple-black irregularly mottled with yellowish, rugulose and papillate especially towards centre, papillae dome-shaped to ± cylindrical obtuse and fused into ridges, each with a darker apical spot (but no bristle); tube shallowly conical, with corolla thickened around mouth; lobes 20-35 mm long, 20-30 mm broad at base, spreading, ovate-deltate, acute, convex above, with crenulate abruptly erect and fleshy margins bearing vibratile cylindrical to subclavate white to dark purple cilia ±3 mm long. Corona ±7 mm tall, 13-15 mm broad, yellow heavily marked with dark purple to purple-red marked with yellow (on inner lobes), raised on short stipe; outer lobes 7-8 mm long, ±2.5 mm broad at base, ascending, deeply trifid; central lobule 5-6 mm long, linear to narrowly deltoid, truncate to notched, channelled down inner face; lateral lobules slender, subulate, often widely diverging, from half length of central lobule to as long as it; inner lobes ±6 mm long, connivent becoming recurved above, terete above anthers, obtuse, near base with ascending laterally flattened ± deltoid dorsal horn 1-2 mm long.