Melianthus comosus fruit

The pale green fruit capsules of Melianthus comosus, inflated bladder-like and four-winged, hang below the leaves on this stem. The long thin style persists at the tip of the fruit.

Earlier the flowers had grown in racemes from the leaf axils, one per node. The sturdy beige sepals, hairy surfaced and tapering to acute tips, are still protectively positioned over the fruits, while the softer red petals that protruded beyond the calyx in the time of flowering, had already turned brown and dropped off.

The plant is sometimes commonly called turkey bush (Manning, 2009; www.plantzafrica.com).