Zaluzianskya natalensis Bernh.

Perennial herb with thick clump of partly subterranean vegetative buds at the crown, one occasionally developing into a leaf rosette; stem usually solitary, simple, stout, erect to 350 mm, pubescent, hairs retrorse, leafy becoming bracteate upwards. Leaves mostly 60-90 x 15-25 mm, rapidly decreasing in size and passing imperceptibly into bracts, upper leaves sharply ascending, all elliptic, tapering at both ends, margins entire or callose-toothed, thinly hairy or hairs confined to margins and veins. Flowers opening at dusk or in dull light, in a short, dense spike, up to c. 90 x 25 mm, not elongating in fruit, the axis usually remaining invisible. Bracts adnate to calyx for c. 4 mm, resembling the leaves but smaller, imbricate, obscuring part of the bract above, mostly 20-40 x 6-15 mm, margins entire or with an occasional callose tooth. Calyx c. 15-30 mm long often glabrous except for hairy margins, sometimes keels hairy as well, lips 4.5-7 mm long. Corolla tube 32-50 mm long, glandular-puberulous, hairs 0.1-0.25 mm long, rarely a few eglandular hairs also present, limb held horizontally, regular; mouth with thick circlet of long unicellular hairs; lobes (5-)6-8 mm long, deeply notched, crimson and glandular-puberulous outside, white inside with minute scattered glandular hairs particularly on lower half. Stamens 4, anticous anthers c. 2 mm long, shortly exserted, posticous ones c. 5-5.7 mm long, included. Capsule c. 16 x 5 mm. Seeds c. 1.5 x 1 mm, angled, colliculate, pallid. Flowering mostly between January and March.