Pleiospilos compactus subsp. canus flowers

    Pleiospilos compactus subsp. canus flowers

    The yellow flowers Pleiospilos compactus subsp. canus grow solitary on very short or no stalks from between the paired leaves.

    The narrowly paddle-shaped petals are long and sometimes white near the base as in the photo. They grow in about two whorls around the flower centre, soft and arching out from angled-up at the base. Flower diameter is about 3 cm, the number of petals said to be more than eighty.

    Ring-shaped nectar glands, dark green in colour, surround the base of each of at least nine styles per flower (iNaturalist; http://www.llifle.com).