Erica species black corolla cream calyx

This Erica photographed in the Jan Marais Nature Reserve at Stellenbosch during March resembles the rare and famous Erica recurvata of the Oxyloma group of ericas.

E. recurvata grows terminal flower clusters bearing red styles, white calyces and white-based petals. The flowers in picture grow axillary, solitary and conspicuously long-pedicelled in a lax raceme among dense, grey-green leaves, thread-like and up-curving.

They are at this stage appearing old, maybe having already lost some colour. The bell-shaped yellowish calyx is about three quarters the length of the black, cylindrical corolla. The narrow, pointed sepals are slightly triangular from membranous wings.

The dark style is very far exserted, the brown anthers barely. Ericas of the Oxyloma group have long exserted styles and included anthers (Baker and Oliver, 1967; Wikipedia).