Aristea bakeri fruiting in the Overberg

After flowering on a rocky hill inland of Hermanus, this Aristea bakeri or tall Capeblue plant is ripening its young fruit on the warm sunny days of late spring. Done flowering, it appears in a calm phase, but some of the most important work of its year only happens now. The carbohydrates destined elsewhere when there are no fruits are building seed coats and packing embryos with reserves for early independent life.

Metabolically fruiting could be harder work than flowering, taking its toll on the plant. That is why gardeners often remove dead flowers and beginning fruits from flowering plants in deadheading, directing energy and resources back to leaves and more flowers.

Aristea fruits ripen actively within a few weeks after flowering, on the early bloomers even before summer arrives (Manning, 2009; https://www.gardendesign.com; https://link.springer.com).