Ornithogalum pilosum flower

    Ornithogalum pilosum flower
    Author: Ivan Lätti
    Photographer: Thabo Maphisa

    The flowers of Ornithogalum pilosum grow in a few- to many-flowered, loose raceme; sometimes multiple racemes. There is a small triangular bract below each long, ascending pedicel or flower stalk.

    The six tepals spread in two whorls around the superior ovary that is ellipsoid and yellow in the flower centre. The tepals are slender, ovate to lanceolate in shape, white inside and pale brown or pinkish on the outside.

    The six stamens comprising thin, white filaments and small, globular, beige anthers are in picture not much taller than the ovary in their midst. The style is short and slender on top of the ovary.

    Flowering happens from before midspring to early summer. The photo was taken during October.

    The ovoid fruit capsule is about 7 mm long, the seeds inside it minute (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; JSTOR; http://worldfloraonline.org).

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