Lachenalia membranacea successful and failed flowers

The open Lachenalia membranacea flowers are roundly urn-shaped. The back end of the flower appears like a narrow, perianth tube extension rather than a pedicel.

The outer three perianth segments are shorter than the inner ones, ending in blunt, mustard-yellow to olive-green tips.

The inner three segments complete the urn-shape by the out-curving of their colourful tips. The dark, pink-purple blotches present on these segments end in narrow, white margins, unevenly wavy to crinkly. It is these white, membranous margins that gave the newly recognised species (previously L. elegans var. membranacea), its specific name.

Nearly globular, dark anthers are positioned inside the mouth but easy for pollinators to see and touch.

There is a narrowly linear to thread-like bract below each flower, appearing longer in the upper flowers that did not develop properly. The basal narrow perianth parts of these upper flowers have elongated excessively without apparent functional effect. The juicy resources in the plant seem to run out before the last to open, uppermost flowers get their chance to perform (iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org).