Protea nitida flowerhead when the end is near

The available nectar and prepared pollen ensure busy trading time, weather permitting. Some sources indicate the pollinators for Protea nitida to be birds. The bees buzzing among the styles of the flower in the photo show that there are more things happening on a sunny morning in Jonkershoek than Horatio and the rest of us may have heard about; let alone in heaven and earth!

What is important is the pollen reaching the destination for new seed to grow. The busier the open flower, the better. And on the right last year’s by now brown and dry flowerhead still holds the seeds ready for committing to the earth in the fullness of time.