Flowering stem erect, straight or flexuose at leaf and bract insertions, 10–30 cm tall, 1–2 mm diam., grey-green to green. Leaf linear, attenuate, 5–21 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, shallowly channelled or folded, often reaching inflorescence, green. Inflorescence 1–5-flowered. Sterile bracts 1 or 2. Perianth segments ovate to lanceolate, 12–20 mm long, variable in colour, mostly salmon-red, occasionally pink, red or purple, edged with or wholly yellow. Column ovoid, 4–6 mm long, bright red or sometimes yellow; mid-lobe hardly developed, small and warty; lateral lobes variable, oblique to nearly erect, oblong to quadrangular, 2–3 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, irregularly scalloped to intensely and minutely rugose, or warty all over to more or less on margins only. Anther with long, oblong apex covered above with short, yellow, velvety papillae, protruding between or below lateral lobes of column. Flowers Aug.–Sep.
LoM, Wim, VVP, VRiv, GipP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, HSF. Also SA. Occurs sporadically in grassland, woodland and open forests, where the parent species grow together.
