Cyanella hyacinthoides flower

The stalked flowers of Cyanella hyacinthoides are sometimes violet-scented. The six tepals in two whorls of three spread to a corolla diameter of about 2 cm.

The stamens grow in two groups: The five upper ones are together, their filaments joined. Their oblong anthers are half as long as that of the single lower stamen that veers away below.

Pollination is done by carpenter bees in a process called buzz pollination. Pollen grains become dislodged from rapid wing movement or buzzing by visiting carpenter bees close to the flowers. The anther openings are (only) at the anther tips from where the pollen escapes onto the bee bodies.

Flowering happens in late winter and spring (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist).