Adromischus maximus, one at a time

    Adromischus maximus, one at a time
    Author: Ivan Lätti
    Photographer: Thabo Maphisa

    The flowers of Adromischus maximus grow in a dense and complex inflorescence comprising a thyrse made up of several cymes. Each cyme has about three flowers, occasionally seven, its flowers opening in sequence.

    The tubular corolla is longitudinally grooved and greenish on its outer surface. The corolla has five white petal lobes, usually with some pink as visible in the photo on the bud (on the left below). These lobes are triangularly pointed and recurving. Tiny hairy to papillary outgrowths called trichomes are present in the throat of the flower.

    A short grey-green calyx is visible at the cylindrical corolla base. The stamens are short, the anthers carried inside the flower mouth. Flowering occurs from midspring through summer (JSTOR; iSpot; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).

    Total Hits : 651