Desor. Acaulescent, copiously stoloniferous. Produced 
leaves five or six in a closely convolute rosette, which is 
cylindrical in the lower half, about a foot long, one and a 
half or two inches broad, horny in texture, narrowed 
gradually to an acute point, dull green on both surfaces, 
covered, especially beneath, with a thin layer of white lepidote 
scales, not at all fasciated, the marginal prickles minute, 
deltoid. Peduncle nearly as long as the leaves, reddish, 
terete, farinose, furnished with several scariose lanceolate 
dull reddish bract-leaves. Flowers six to twelve in a lax 
drooping raceme with a mealy flexuose rachis, nearly sessile, 
the lower ones subtended by large lanceolate scariose 
bracts, like those of the peduncle. Ovary oblong-trigonous, 
a third or half an inch long. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, 
horny, reddish, subacute, longer than the ovary. Petals 
lingulate, about two inches long, with a greenish-yellow 
claw, with a pair of small fimbriated basal scales and 
bright violet-coloured tip. Stamens shorter than the petals ; 
anthers linear-oblong, versatile, bright yellow. Stigmas 
protruded beyond the anthers, strongly convolute.—J. G. 
Baker, 
Fig. i, Petal, with stamen, life size; 2, a basal scale of the petal; 3 and 4, 
anthers; 5, stigmas; 6, horizontal section of ovary :—all enlarged. © 
