Erica densifolia flowers

The long-tubed flowers of Erica densifolia maintain their slight downward arching consistently. The sparsely stubbly flowers are stickier in their lower halves.

The inconspicuous, dark, narrow sepals are longitudinally grooved, small upon the back-ends of the corolla tubes. The whitish style-tips are exserted, showing no visible signs in picture of changed shape or colour in the stigmas. The styles are pressed against the tops of the corolla tubes.

The dark anthers are visible in some flowers, reaching as far as the red section inside the tube. The oblong anthers have “tails” emerging from their bases where they are attached to the white filaments, hidden inside the corolla tubes.

The photo was taken in January on a fynbos slope to the south of the Langkloof (Baker and Oliver, 1967; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015).