Othonna quinquedentata flowerheads and buds

The outer ring of ray florets in an Othonna quinquedentata flowerhead are female. Some two-branched, recurving style tips prove that in picture, the styles leaning outwards over the bases of the ray blades or limbs.

Inside them, some of the outer, all male, disc florets are also open and expressing themselves, today’s favourite expression about acting with self-confidence. The florets exsert what they have on offer: their erect, orange anthers.

The half-open bud at the top of the picture illustrates the last stage of floral opening, the seemingly rotating furl of rays on the cusp of spreading.

Below them, there is a second, younger bud. On this one the involucral bracts still cover the florets fully. These bracts are often reddish or partly so, growing in a single row as allround protection, their tips converging at the centre point on top of the bud (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iNaturalist).