Woody shrubs with stems up to 1.5 (rarely 2.5) m high and 4-5 cm in diameter, branched at base only, but with several tufts of three to six leaves proceeding near the top from beneath the leaf sheaths, or extensively branched at a height of about 1 m. Leaf sheaths brown, fan-like, about 5-6 cm long, soon splitting; blades to 50 cm long and 2-8 mm wide, deciduous, V-shaped with median adaxial groove, linear, sizes variable, glabrous on both sides but often serrulate at margins and on keel. Flowers solitary on 10-15-cm-long peduncles that are covered in the upper part with dark coloured eglandular emergences. Tepals about 50 mm long and 10 mm wide, light blue to light mauve, glabrous on the outside but with a few trichomes on basal part of midrib. Stamens six, filaments short, anthers about 20 mm long. Style including stigma 25 mm long. Ovary oblong about 12 mm long and 6 mm in diameter, densely covered with ascending brown, about 2-mm-long eglandular emergences.
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