Robust terrestrial. Pseudobulbs ovoid, to 8 cm long, partly subterranean. Leaves 4?7, lanceolate, to 75 cm long, to 11 cm wide. Inflorescences erect, to 2 m tall. Flowers 20-50, to 4 cm wide; winter. Sepals oblong, green with purplish blotches. Petals broader, yellow. Labellum 3-lobed, with 3 longitudinal crests, spur short, yellow with purplish side lobes.
Ethiopia to S Africa.
E. keithii Ridl. from Thailand and Malaysia is a robust epilith with deciduous straplike leaves and many yellowish flowers with prominent brown streaks and suffusions.
Source: (2005). Orchidaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.