Tromotriche herrei (Nel) Bruyns

Compact to somewhat diffuse clump-forming succulent up to 300 mm diam. Stems 40-150 mm long, 10-20 mm thick, erect, tapering slightly towards apex, pale green to reddish; tubercles very obscure so stem obscurely and very obtusely 4-angled to almost cylindrical, without apical tooth. Inflorescences 1-4 arising randomly on stem but frequently towards apex, each bearing 1-3 flowers developing in gradual succession on stout knobbly peduncle up to 5 mm long; pedicel 15-70 mm long, 2-3 mm thick, ascending to erect holding flower facing upwards; sepals 4-5 mm long, 1.25-2.00 mm broad at base, narrowly deltoid, acute. Corolla 20-60 mm diam., campanulate; outside pale green often with reddish veins becoming brownish on lobes; inside white to cream on raised rugosities with brown to red or green patches between them, red in tube and usually maroon to dark maroon in base of tube around gynostegium, deeply and coarsely reticulately rugulose on lobes fading somewhat in tube but with further coarse ± concentric-pentagonal rugosities around gynostegium at base of tube, without papillae in lower part of tube; tube 8-15 mm long, with small pentagonal basal portion 5-8 mm diam. (where corolla much thickened) then widening to inflated shallowly urceolate portion 12-25 mm diam. in middle and narrowing slightly towards mouth to 10-22 mm; lobes 12-20 mm long, 8-15 mm broad at base, ascending to spreading, deltate (ovate when flattened), acute, convex from strongly recurved margins, eciliate. Corona ±6 mm tall, 9 mm broad, raised on short very stout stipe, usually shiny black-red becoming reddish towards base, closely contained in basal portion of tube; outer lobes ±2.5 mm long, 1.5-2.0 mm broad, ascending then spreading, channelled above, with spreading finely crenulate ± truncate apices, sometimes orange-brown; inner lobes 4.5-5.5 mm long, adpressed to lower half of backs of anthers, then erect and connivent, dorsiventrally flattened for lower ±1.5 mm then swelling to stoutly clavate mostly smooth (obscurely rugulose) apex ±1.75 mm thick, with very similar (but slightly shorter and distinctly laterally flattened) ascending clavate dorsal horn arising near base.