Gethyllis

Deciduous bulbous herbs. Bulb sometimes dividing into clusters, often with a conspicuous basal sheath surrounding foliage leaves. Leaves few to several, frequently spiralled, often pubescent, mostly absent at flowering, often contemporary with fruit; hairs simple or medifixed. Inflorescence 1-flowered; scape reduced, included in bulb neck; spathe membranous, sheathing. Flower regular or weakly irregular by deflection of style, often several appearing from a cluster of bulbs, pink to white, fugacious; pedicel reduced. Tepals connate into a long, slender, fleshy, cylindric tube; segments shorter than tube, spreading. Stamens 6, 12, 18 or more, uniseriate, arising in perigone throat; filaments short, free or fused at base; sometimes bearing 2-5 anthers; anthers linear, basifixed, rolled backwards with age. Ovary enclosed in spathe and bulb-neck; ovules many per locule; style elongate, filiform, erect or laterally deflexed; stigma capitate. Fruit indehiscent, clavate to cylindric, +/- succulent, yellowish to white, often spotted with red, aromatic and edible, rarely thin-walled, disintegrating irregularly. Seeds subglobose, firm, cream-coloured to reddish, small and many or large and few; embryo green. x = 6.