Small spreading, diffusely branched, glab-rescent bushes (chamaephytes) up to c. 0,3 m tall. Rootstock woody, gnarled, knobbly (the knobs presenting remains of swollen bases of annual stems); roots woody, long, inÂitially covered by roothairs. Stems several, erect, with long internodes up to 60-100 mm long, 1-2 mm in diam. Leaves with lamina linear, flat, 80-100 x 4-10 mm, attenuated at base into a pseudo-petiole, white-punctu-late; sheath membranous, sub-auriculate. Flowering spathe solitary (rarely 2), terminal, sessile or nearly so, fused, shortly triangular, 15 mm long, 10 mm broad, apex short, acute, minutely puberulous and with scattered white setae. Cyme solitary. Flowers small, petals blue or white ("pink" fide Galpin 808). Sepals ovate, c. 5 mm, membranous, upper minute. Petals: upper ones rounded, c. 15 mm, lower one minute. Stamens typical, the anthers ocÂcasionally with dark margins, the central semicircular; staminodes with yellow, bulbous antherodes. Capsule with globose, shiny, cream-coloured locules; seeds globose, 5 mm in diam., smooth, farinaceous, dorsal seed occasionally aborted.
