Leucospermum cordifolium from above

Leucospermum cordifolium styles are pale pinkish lower down, depending on how the light falls. There is never a straight one! They all curve inwards, adhering to a much-repeated curve in the species that turns fast near the pollen presenter cum stigma. The thickened, nearly ovoid stigma body at each style tip has a dark face at its top, probably sticky for allowing the incoming pollen grain to stick. And for it to travel down inside the style on its most important journey.  

The stem below the flowerhead is sturdy enough for sugarbirds and the other, smaller pollinators to land safely for their brief feeding stopovers. Touching the flower does the trick: it ensures the receiving and depositing of pollen during visits, attaching first to feathers or insect body parts and then to stigmas during nectar feasting (Manning, 2007; Matthews and Carter, 1993; iNaturalist).