Small herb with tuberous, cylindrical, fleshy roots; leaves radical, sessile, crowded at the base, membranous, usually ensiform, reurved, 15-60 x 1.5-4 cm, wavy or crisped on margins; inflorescence scapigerous, 15-90 cm long, with a small sheath; flowers in simple or shortly branched, densely flowered racemes; pedicels short, stout, jointed at or below the middle; perianth white, segments-6, elliptic-oblong; stamens-6, not exserted, anthers about as long as the papilose, recurved filaments; ovary 3-celled, ovules 2 or more in each cell, style-1, slender, stigma lobed; capsules 4-6 seeded, oblong, 2-lobed at apex; seeds irregularly orbicular, flat, opaque.