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Description:
Plants 300–450 mm high. Corm 9–12 mm diam.; tunics of pale, fine fibres. Stem simple, rarely 1-branched, sheathing leaves 45–55 mm long, green with dry attenuate apices. Foliage leaf solitary, linear, channelled but with margins folded together, 0.7–1.5 mm diam., exceeding stem, often trailing above, sometimes with cormlet in axil. Rhipidial spathes with dry, brown, attenuate tips, inner 35–40 mm long, outer ± half as long. Flowers long-lived, purple, outer tepal limbs with white, wedge- or V-shaped, minutely papillate nectar guides at bases, dark purple in centre, laxly spreading; outer tepals 20–23 mm long, claws 8–9 mm long, with wide, dark violet median stripe, limb 12–15 × 6–8 mm; inner tepals 7–10 long, ± erect, 3-lobed, lateral lobes rounded, central lobe 3–4 mm long, tapering to attenuate, laxly twisted apex. Filaments 3.5–4.0 mm long, united in lower ± 2 mm; anthers 4.5–6.0 mm long, sometimes shortly exceeding stigma lobe, dark purple-black; pollen orange-red. Ovary narrowly oblong, 7–9 mm long, usually exserted in mature flower; style branches 7–9 × 1–2 mm, crests narrowly wedge-shaped, ± 5 mm long, erect. Capsules narrowly ovoid, 8–11 mm long. Seeds angular, 1.2–1.5 mm long, angles forming raised, pale, ± spongy ridges. Flowering time: late October to mid-November.
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