Crassula muscosa var. muscosa peak performance

Lizard’s tail or Crassula muscosa var. muscosa flowering can be so spectacular that real lizards can’t match.

First the buds develop cone-shaped, maroon tips that push the sepals apart. When the five maroon-tipped petals of each flower spread, the five yellow anthers form a ring inside, initially a close one.

In older flowers the anthers spread wider, losing their yellow and become inconspicuous. By now the five carpels, the female floral component inside the ring of stamens, spread their style-tips, forming a less distinct but also yellow ring of the five tiny stigmas.

A carnival confusion of busy bodies, old and young ensues, making up the well-attired cylinder where the arrival of another generation of plants of the species is celebrated (Smith, et al, 2017; iNaturalist).