Aloiampelos tenuior buds

This raceme of Aloiampelos tenuior buds was seen in the Jan Marais Nature Reserve at Stellenbosch during March. The flowering is neither early nor late, as the plant flowers all year although more in winter.

Only some very uppermost buds in picture are differently coloured to the pinkish red of the rest lower down. The dark colouring may indicate imminent dropping off, the plant seeming to lack capacity for supporting them all. In such a case the last ones at the top are sacrificed early to ensure full fruition of the stronger flowers, the “first-borns” lower down.

The bud tips are paler than their main bodies, not green as is common (Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; iNaturalist).