Leucospermum conocarpodendron, the Botany Beatles

Flowerhead growth of Leucospermum conocarpodendron has here reached the stage of perianths on parade, neatly aligned in close ranks that would have pleased Signor Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa.

This is where the thin, orange-pink bracts lose “parental” control, the teenagers tall and confident, seeing other teenagers, ignoring parents. Pubescence is there as it should be, whitish in this case. Typical of the stage, the profusion of hairs covers all the heads in the community in conformist style.

Maturity and fruition are yet to come; the leaves still largely conceal the outside world, protecting their interests while keeping their distance. The perianths are not as pretty as they will later be; still, adolescents all over the world are in a blind hurry when not resting.