Pterygodium hallii floral beginnings

No fully developed flowers present yet, the first green buds of Pterygodium hallii are freeing their segments among the still dominant pale bracts, streaked green by veins. This is one of the non-resupinate Pterygodium species. The whitish ovary visible in the photo is not about to start twisting around to present the lip at the bottom of the flower as in the resupinate ones.

Many more very small buds are still covered inside the leafy bracts above the buds and flowers exposed so far. The dense inflorescence, becoming about 22 cm long, bears many flowers subtended by ovately shaped bracts that taper to acutely pointed tips (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Le Roux, et al, 2005).