Ophiopogon elatior

Description: — Herb terrestrial, perennial, glabrous. Rhizome simple, horizontal, stout, elongate, 5 – 10 cm long, ca. 10 mm in diameter. Roots wiry, ca. 1 mm in diameter. Leaves many, tufted, terminal to subterminal, grass-like, linear, arching, 60 – 80 cm × 5 – 6 mm, apex acuminate, base no tapering, with scarious brown wings, margin minutely serrulate, adaxially green, abaxially pale green, with 10 – 20 narrow parallel white stripes, main longitudinal veins only 1 distinct at middle part of leaves. Scape erect, slender, ridged, 80 – 100 cm long, highly overtopping the grass-like foliage, dark purple or green, 2 – 3 mm in diameter. Peduncle (the lower part of scape without flowers) 50 – 80 cm long; bracts (without flowers) 3, green, lanceolate, the lowest one ca. 3 cm long, the upper ones smaller. Inflorescence a lax raceme with distant fascicles of 1 – 3 flowers; rachis 15 – 30 cm long. Floral bracts smaller than the ones on peduncle, lanceolate, apex acuminate, basal part with narrow scarious wings; inner bracts small, scarious. Pedicels (including basal stalky part of perianth) 9 – 11 mm long (true pedicels excluding perianth part, 5 – 6 mm long), ca. 0.5 mm in diameter, arching downwards, terete, minutely ridged, purple, articulate in or around middle part. Flowers drooping, relatively large, perianth ca. 2 cm across in fully opening; flower buds narrowly conical. Perianth lobes 6, patulous in fully opening, white, adaxially distinctly purple-dotted, lanceolate to elliptic, 9 – 11 mm × 2 – 4 mm, apex acuminate, inner ones slightly narrower than outer ones. Stamens 6, separate; filaments free, distinct, white, ca. 1.5 mm long; anthers green, introrse, narrowly hastate-anceolate, 6 – 7 mm long, broaden at base, acuminate at apex. Pistil 1; ovary inferior, 3 - locular, generally flat but somewhat protuberant at terminal part; ovules 1 – 2 per locule; style 1, white, slender, distinctly curved about 2 times, ca. 11 mm long. Immature seeds oblong-obovoid, green. Flower June – July.