Aloe thraskii buds

The buds of this mature Aloe thraskii plant, flowering in midwinter in the Walker Bay area, are ready for opening one by one, starting from the lowest ones on a raceme. The number of racemes on the inflorescence, the number of flowers per raceme and eventually the number of seeds borne within each flower’s fruit capsule, indicate that seed production is serious business for this plant.

In the built-up environment of the photo it is, however, quite possible that not one of the seeds to be released here in a few months will get the chance to germinate. This will not discourage the plant’s vigorous production efforts! The living species incapable of hope act as if they know all about it.