Herb to 200 cm high, evergreen if not too dry, producing a succession of flowering stems, but in East Africa usually producing a solitary stem during the rainy season. Bulb subglobose, 2–4 cm in diameter, white, tinged purple, stoloniferous. Stems usually solitary per bulb, rooting at the base above the bulb, purple-brown, especially below, scaberulous. Leaves numerous, most dense at base of stem, sparser and shorter above, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 7.5–20x(0.2–)0.4–0.5(–1) cm, 3–7 veined, glabrous, lustrous dark green; upper leaves lanceolate, 2–5 cm long, acute. Flowers usually 1(–2) in Africa, potentially 3–10(–30), borne horizontally, white, narrowly funnel-shaped, the outer whorl of perianth segments suffused brownish-pink externally, fragrant; pedicels erect or ascending, 6–15 cm, with leafy bracts and bracteoles. Perianth segments 12.5–20 cm long, reflexed at apices, outer whorl oblong-oblanceolate 2.5–3 cm wide, narrower at base, inner whorl spathulate, with long claw, limb obovate-lanceolate to 5 cm wide; nectary-furrow narrow, green, papillose-pubescent. Filaments equalling perianth tube, 7–12.5 cm long, flattened, obscurely papillose below; anthers 9–21 mm long, more or less included in perianth, pollen brown or yellow. Ovary lustrous green, cylindric, 5 cm long; style angular, 6–9 cm, thickened and curved upwards below the large, 3-lobed stigma, exceeding anthers. Capsule cylindrical, weakly 6-angled, erect, 7–9x± 2 cm, apex depressed, base stipitate. Seed obovate, thin with a thickened margin, 5 mm long. Fig. 1.
