Piaranthus geminatus subsp. geminatus flower

The tiny yellow corona in the centre of the Piaranthus geminatus subsp. geminatus flower appears like a second five-pointed star inside the more spectacular corolla around it. There are no spots upon the corona in this species, while the corolla has many tiny red dots scattered along its surface. Flower colour in P. geminatus subsp. geminatus tends to vary.

There is also a P. geminatus subsp. decorus occurring in the Great Karoo north of the Swartberg Mountain range in the Northern Cape.

Neither subspecies is considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (White and Sloane, 1937; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; http://redlist.sanbi.org).