Tritonia pallida Ker Gawl.

Plants 150-300(-450) mm high. Corm subglobose, 10-20 mm diam., sometimes deep-seated; tunics of fine-textured fibres, sometimes extending into a fibrous or papery neck. Stem usually flexed outward above upper leaf and slightly inclined, simple or with up to 2(3) suberect branches from lower 1/2. Leaves 5 to 8, often drying at flowering, suberect or arcuate, narrowly lanceolate, 30-150(-200) x (3-)5-10(-15) mm, acute or acuminate, thin-textured with raised main vein, ± 1/2 as long as flowering stem, cauline leaves dry, clasping, bract-like. Spike inclined, ± 2-ranked, rather lax, 4-to 10-flowered; bracts dry and papery, pale and translucent below, densely speckled and flecked reddish to dark brown above or at tips, outer (7-)10-15(-18) mm long, minutely ± 3-toothed, often recurved at tips, inner slightly shorter, bifid. Flowers zygomorphic, suberect, white or cream-coloured to pale lilac with dark veins, especially on tube, lower 3 tepals often with greenish yellow median streak or callus, rarely outlined with red or with red lines at base, unscented; perianth tube ± cylindric, (30-)45-65(-70) mm long, straight below, curved outward and widening in upper 7-10 mm to 5-8 mm diam.; tepals obtuse, dorsal largest, suberect or curved outward, upper (10-)15-20 mm long, dorsal obovate to suborbicular, 8-13 mm wide, upper laterals oblong-elliptic, 5-8 mm wide, lower oblong, 8-15 x 4-6 mm, without calluses or with low, thickened basal ridge, usually best developed on lower median and sometimes oblong and ± 1 mm high, rarely lower median tepal with a forward-directed, obliquely quadrate callus up to 2 mm high and lower laterals with smaller peg-like calluses. Filaments unilateral and arcuate, (7-)10-14 mm long, shortly exserted; anthers 4-8 mm long, apiculate, purple; pollen violet. Style dividing shortly below or above anther tips, branches 2-4 mm long. Capsules ellipsoid, 12-20 mm long.