stems rather crowded, 4–5 1/2 in. (5–7 in., Pillans) high, 6–10 lin. (3/4–1 in., Pillans) square, with concave sides and angles not much compressed, velvety pubescent, green; teeth not very prominent, with erect adpressed rudimentary leaves 1–1 1/2 lin. long; flowers 2–5 together near the base of the stems and 2 or more sometimes open at the same time; pedicels 1/2–1 1/2 in. long, 1 1/2–2 1/2 lin. thick, velvety; sepals about 4 lin. long, lanceolate, acute or acuminate, velvety; corolla in bud long-acuminate from a narrowly pentagonal-ovoid base, not twisted, when expanded 4–5 1/2 in. in diam. with the lobes extended, velvety-puberulous on the back, smooth to slightly transversely rugose and glabrous on the inner face, purple-brown, without markings, shining, densely ciliate with soft light purple simple hairs, which are shorter and fewer and become absent towards the tips; disk flattish, depressed at the centre; lobes 1 2/3–2 1/3 lin. long, 7–9 lin. broad, lanceolate, attenuate into tail-like tips, variably spreading or recurved, not revolute at the margins; outer corona variable, blackish, shining, either of 10 free ascending lobes 2 1/2 lin. long, 5 of them alternating with the inner corona-lobes, flattish, oblong or oblong-obovate, 1–1 1/2 lin. broad at the top, which is abruptly acuminate or somewhat 3-toothed or abruptly rounded into a short central obtuse point, 5 others at the back of and adpressed to or united with the inner corona-lobes, about 3/4 lin. broad, linear or oblong-linear, obtuse, truncate, notched or bifid at the apex; or the 5 lobes alternating with the inner corona-lobes narrower and oblong, and alternating with 5 pairs of filiform teeth; or of 5 very deeply 3-fid lobes with filiform lateral segments; or all the lobes connate at the basal part into a cup, divided above into 5 regularly 3-toothed or irregularly several-toothed lobes; inner corona-lobes about 3 lin. long, blackish, shining, with the dorsal-wing 1 1/2 lin. broad, adnate for 1/2– 2/3 of its length to the inner horn, its free part oblong or rounded, very obtuse, entire or obscurely crenulate; inner horn recurving, very stoutly triquetrous, acute to subobtuse, slightly longer than the dorsal wing; dried follicles subparallel, 6 in. long, puberulous; seeds 2 1/4 lin. long, 1 1/4 lin. broad, ovate, with thick incurved margins on one side, convex on the other, smooth, glabrous, light brown. null
