Chaenostoma hispidum flowers

The flowers of Chaenostoma hispidum are borne in pairs from upper leaf axils. The sepals are narrow, green and hairy. The five-lobed, green calyx is short compared to the narrowly funnel-shaped corolla tube.

The five oblong, round-tipped petal lobes spread in a star-shape around the yellow corolla mouth. Flower colour (referring to just the inside surfaces of the spreading, round-tipped corolla lobes, as commonly happens with multicoloured flowers), is white, mauve or pink.

The four stamens grow in two unequal pairs. The lower pair has its yellow anthers exserted, the upper pair awaiting pollinators inside the tube in benevolent ambush mode. The ovary of the flower is superior, i.e. it is positioned above the receptacle of the flower, the perianth attached below the ovary.

Flowering happens all year round, more during the hotter season. This plant is an established and rewarding garden subject (Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).