Plants 250-650 mm high, usually solitary but sometimes forming small clumps. Corm subglobose, 20-40 mm diam.; tunics coarsely netted. Stem erect, simple. Leaves 3 or 4, dry and sometimes broken at flowering, lower 2 or 3 basal, ± as long as spike or longer, linear to lanceolate, (3-)5-15 mm wide, midrib and margins strongly thickened and hyaline, uppermost leaf or leaves partly sheathing stem; bract-like cauline leaves 2 or more, overlapping, large and somewhat inflated. Spike 12-to 22(30)-flowered; bracts dry and cinnamon-to dark brown, veins not evident, 16-25(-40) mm long, 10-12 mm wide, clasping stem in lower 1/3 or less, strongly overlapping, inner shorter and concealed, usually forked apically up to 2 mm. Flowers zygomorphic, weakly bilabiate, pink to pinkish purple, paler in throat and tube; tepals usually with dark median streak in lower half; perianth tube with lower part 12-18 mm long, included in bracts, upper part horizontal and funnel-shaped, ± 15 mm long, ± 8 mm diam. at mouth; tepals lanceolate, upper three spreading, lower three nearly horizontal, ± 20 x 8-9 mm. Filaments unilateral and arcuate, 12-16 mm long, reaching mouth of tube; anthers 9-10 mm long, mauve to whitish. Style arching over stamens, dividing near anther apices, branches ± 4 mm long. Capsules narrowly ovoid, 10-14 mm long. Seeds angular-elongate, 4-5 x 2 mm.
More
Cormous geophyte, up to 0.7 m high; plants solitary. Stem bracts inflated. Leaves with 2 or 3 basal ones; blade 5-15 mm wide, margins and midrib strongly thickened. Flowers: in a 12-22-flowered spike, internodes 5-9 mm long; peduncle short, sturdy, erect; bracts narrow, ± 25 x 12 mm, only clasping stem near base, stem bracts inflated, bracts dry uniformly dark brown; perianth with tube 20-30 mm long, segments ± 20 x 9 mm, bright pink; Oct.-Dec.
A corm or bulb plant. It grows 70 cm tall. There are 2 or 3 leaves near the base. These are 5-15 mm wide. The edges are thickened. The flowers occur as 12-22 flowers in a spike.
Home
