Albuca grandis shielded buds

An Albuca grandis inflorescence starts off on a sturdy peduncle as a dense, conical cluster of large, overlapping, triangular bracts covering the developing flower buds. The bracts attenuate to long, erect tips that curve in slightly.

The closed, ellipsoid buds are well-hidden while the individual flower pedicels have not yet developed. Once the buds start expanding, their bracts turn brown and their pedicels elongate.

Flowering happens in winter and early spring. The photo was taken in September (Manning and Goldblatt, 2009: Albuca crispa and A. grandis. Bothalia 39(2), 153-163; iNaturalist).