Plants consisting of leafy fans, closely bunched on short, much branched rhizomes. Leaves 100–400 mm × 1–4 mm, green to glaucous, slightly falcate, the two sides similar, although in some accessions they are all concave on the same face; leaf bases red-purple; veins numerous; margins finely scabrid; leaf in transverse section a flattened convex lens shape, two rows of vascular bundles present centrally, marginal vascular bundle present, sclerenchyma present on inside of leaf sheath. Inflorescences long (140–560 mm), carrying flowers above leaves; peduncles 2/5 the length of the inflorescence. Panicle broad, usually openly branched; lower bracts long (20–60 mm), green and lanceolate, upper bracts short and brown, occurring singly; 1–7 flowers per branch. Pedicels slender and delicate, glabrous, 10–35 mm long. Perianth bud often pigmented externally, often 2× as long as ovary at anthesis. Flowers 10–20 mm diam.; tepals all white internally, inner tepals orbicular, sometimes overlapping outer tepals; outer tepals > ½ length of inner tepals but < 1/3 the area, elliptical, beige or pink, boat-shaped. Staminal filaments very shortly connate; anthers 2–3 mm long, yellow; pollen sacs broad, connective narrow; pollen ellipsoidal, monosulcate, 24.7–38.0 × 17.1–30.4 µm. Ovary dark green, ½ the length of perianth bud; style branches not winged, usually pointing upwards. Capsule small, rarely reaching 5–8 mm long, 3–5 mm diam., barrel-shaped with ribs, ripening from green to brown or black, partially or occasionally fully dehiscing by short loculicidal openings. Seeds 1 × 1–1.5 mm, globose to angular, with reticulate-foveolate surface patterning, yellow to yellow-orange. Chromosome number: 2n = 6x = 114 (Blanchon et al. 2000a). FL Aug– Nov; FR Dec–Feb.

L. grandiflorae (R.Br.) Sweet similis a qua differt statura minori; foliorum basibus purpureis- ruberis; capsulis cupiformibus dehiscentibus partialiter; seminibus flavis-aurantiacis.

2n = 114

n = 57