Arctotis arctotoides bud with protrusions

An Arctotis arctotoides flower bud is a greenish, globose and hairy object at the tip of its softly fleshy peduncle. The one in picture has several of its long, narrow involucral bracts veering away from the bud surface, a feature not always seen.

The leafy bracts are variably shaped here: an obovate shape, an oblong one, as well as some rounded tips appear among them. The whitish green surfaces exposed where the bracts have lifted must be the outer surfaces of the rays that will be reddish, red-brown or purplish once the flowerhead is open (Manning, 2009; Gledhill, 1981; iSpot; www.plantzafrica.com).