Adenium swazicum buds

A crop of promising Adenium swazicum flower buds in two stages of development are ascending from stem-tips in picture. The couple nearly ready to open are shaped like missiles positioned for launching, thickest at the point where the corolla will spread at the top of its long tube.

The smaller ones below are widest at the base where the ovary develops and some pale green sepal tips still add protection on the very smallest ones. At the top of most of these buds the lobe tips are spread just a smidgen in the shape of a minuscule crown.

A partly obscured old, brown corolla tube has sagged sideways in its decline, bearing witness to earlier flowering. Spreading the blooming effort over a longer season does improve chances of setting viable seed, the purpose of all flowering.

The leaf of A. swazicum has a definite fold along its midrib and curves down along its length. The leaf margins are entire, pale and rimmed. The lateral veins join each other in the blade surface just below the margin. A hint of short, whitish hairiness is present on the dull, dark green surfaces.

There is more about this plant elsewhere on this Site. Type the plants name in the Search Box in the top right to access the items (Frandsen, 2017; Smith and Crouch, 2009).