Volkameria glabra passing inspection

Flower inspectors of Volkameria glabra, previously Clerodendrum glabrum var. glabrum, include ants as shown in the photo. Many insects, notably bees, moths and butterflies, consume nectar and pollen here, while conveying clinging pollen grains from flower to flower, effecting the cross-pollination upon which so many plants depend.

Some observers of the ants (and other guests) may be poised to eat the visitors instead of the nectar, while others will photograph them or just admire the distances they climb, not being among the air travellers of nature.

The calyx lobes are positioned far below the corollas. The bracts positioned even further down some flower pedicels are also visible at the hairy base of the clustered inflorescence (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Pooley, 1993; www.plantzafrica.com).