Large aquatic herb; bulb ovoid, 7-10 cm diam. Leaves basal, strap-shaped, mostly acute at apex, 1-2 m long and to 8.5 cm wide, thick and succulent, broadly channeled. Flowering scapes stout, usually somewhat shorter than leaves; involucral bracts 7-11 cm long, pointed; flowers 4-12 per inflorescence, sessile; perianth salverform, 15-25 cm long, white, usually tinged with maroon, often persisting in fruit, the tube slender, green, the lobes 6, lanceolate, 7-11 cm long; stamens 6, long-exserted, to 7 cm long or more, white at base, maroon above; anthers versatile, more than 1 cm long; style maroon, exceeding stamens; stigma weakly trilobate. Capsules fleshy, irregularly rounded, to 7 cm long; seeds 2-4, naked, of very irregular size and shape, mostly ca 5 cm long. Croat 11803. The buoyant seeds are usually washed ashore, where they germinate, but they have been reported to germinate while still afloat.