Plants consisting of leafy fans crowded or emerging at intervals from far-spreading horizontal stolons; stolons c. 3–5 mm diam., bright yellow. Leaves 150–900 mm × 5–11 mm, the two surfaces similar; inclined to turn yellow where exposed to full sun; leaf bases yellow; nerves many, median ones crowded to form a midrib; margins not scabrid, leaf in transverse section convex lensshaped, two rows of vascular bundles present, marginal vascular bundles present, sclerenchyma present on inside of leaf sheath. Peduncles long (2/3 the length of inflorescence) but inflorescences short (2/3 the length of the leaves), flowers and fruits not usually reaching top of leaves. Panicle narrow, sparsely branched; lower bracts long (180– 250 mm), lanceolate and orange-green, upper bracts smaller and membranous brown, occurring singly; 1–3 flowers per branch. Pedicels stout, 5–16 mm long, glabrous. Flower bud sometimes yellowish or brown, usually similar size to ovary sometimes smaller, flowers 20–35 mm diam.; tepals all white internally, widely patent; outer tepals usually > ½ the length of the inner, narrower, elliptical, flattened, with an apiculus; inner tepals oval-elliptical, shortly unguiculate, not usually covering outer tepals, cleft at tip. Staminal filaments very shortly connate; anthers c. 3 mm long, yellow, pollen sacs broad, connective narrow; pollen ellipsoidal, monosulcate, 28.5–38.0 × 19.0–31.4 µm. Ovary yellowish green, ribbed cupiform, equal to or larger than perianth bud; style branches not winged, pointing outwards. Capsule large, often 20 mm long, barrel-shaped, ripening from green to yellow-orange to black, usually indehiscent, although apex may split slightly. Seeds dispersed when capsule disintegrates. Seeds c. 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm, globose to angular, surface texture reticulate-foveolate, orange-brown in colour. Chromosome number 2n = 12x = 228 (Blanchon et al. 2000a). FL Sep–Nov; FR Jan–Dec.

L. ixioidi (Forster f.) Sprengel similis a qua differt rhizomatibus elongatis et ovariis minoribus.

2n = 228

2n = 12x [c. 228]