Crassula alpestris subsp. alpestris flower

The open Crassula alpestris subsp. alpestris flower, first among its mates in the flat-topped, densely flowered inflorescence, spreads its five nearly oblong and abruptly blunt-tipped petals like a wheel ready to rotate. The small floral mouth, rounded to roughly five-angled, allows access to smaller pollinators and those with long mouth parts. Flower diameter is about 5 mm. Expect fragrance from these flowers in the evening.

The broad-bodied buds with elongated, narrow upper parts show white near the sepals below, once the furled petals approach anthesis (opening).

The sepals are thick, brown and blunt-tipped. They serve as covers, by now only for the lower petal parts, dissimilar in their coarse surfaces and bristly hairs (Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; http://pza.sanbi.org).