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 corollas will spread at the top of the long tubes.

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, still insisting on recognition for past performance, its earlier flowering. Spreading the blooming over a longer season improves the chances of setting viable seed, the purpose of all flowering.

The leaves have definite folds along the midribs, curving down along the length. The leaf margins are entire, pale and rimmed. The lateral veins join each other in the blade surface just before the margin. A hint of short, whitish hairiness is present on the dull, dark green surfaces.

There is an Album on Adenium under Genera on this Site (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; Smith and Crouch, 2009; iNaturalist).