Protea cryophila maturing flowerhead

This maturing flowerhead of Protea cryophila in picture has some open perianths. Each a complete little flower in itself, the erect styles and haphazardly positioned perianth segments of the open flower spread around the remaining compact cluster of buds still to open. Protea flowerheads in general appear more attractive when the flowers are still in bud, unopened in this coherent cluster.

When a perianth opens, the almost straight style escapes from the cover provided by the four perianth sections of each little bisexual Protea flower. As the style slips out of the grip of the splitting perianth, the pollen from the anthers at the tips of the perianth segments is smeared onto the escaping, sticky style tip. 

The style, the female floral component is initially the pollen presenter, assisting the male component by assuming the duty of serving pollen to pollinators. Her main procreative task follows later. The food distributed is a nectar drink, hidden lower down in the flower. The insect or bird can only reach the nectar by brushing against the sticky pollen, and becoming smeared with it. Still hungry, it unwittingly carries the pollen cargo to the next flower, where more pollen and nectar await. Here the critical download of some pollen in the right spot may occur, while the carrier gorges itself. 

This initial but secondary feminine function of acting as pollen presenter ensures that the male's contribution is delivered to other flowers, every time nothing untoward befalls the departing pollinator.  Pollinators, be they insects, birds or whatever else, thus have implicit, mutually beneficial arrangements with a plant species; with one, a few or many.

After acting as pollen presenter, the style tip reverts to its main role as stigma, designed to receive new pollen from other flowers, brought along by more visiting nectar seekers, still doing the rounds. This delay in the ripening of the stigma, turning it from a distribution platform to a receiving one and preventing self-pollination, is a common feature of flowers in the Proteaceae family. The vitally important pollinators are blissfully unaware of their function as they feast on the nectar, a byproduct only indirectly part of the procreation equipment as trading currency.

Marketing via colour to attract pollinators to P. cryophila  is enhanced by scent, as happens in the case of many other species, including humans. A yeasty odour is emitted by the open flowerhead, established by lengthy evolutionary processes to secure service providers.

The open season of long awaited pollination performances by a P. cryophila flowerhead lasts for only a few days. After the last performance, the curtain closes in the form of the coat of bracts converging again, closing in upon its treasure of fertilised flowers. Each modest contribution to the promise of species survival is kept safe on the plant while the seeds develop for dispersal inside.

All these reproduction related arrangements and the related feeding of transportation agents are driven by survival, established evolutionary through slow trial and error. The errors or unsuccessful trials all end in florets dying without setting seeds. Every success yields one viable seed. But only if it finds a suitable landing spot where it may germinate and become a new plant.

Pollinators are not hairy or feathery for nothing. Pollen does not stick to things for no reason. All errors or failures ending in death contribute indirectly by eliminating the non-viable, the not selected options from the future of the species. 

While P. cryophila seeds readily germinate in cultivation, no flowering plants are known to have been produced to date. The enigma of growing these plants is also unlikely to be resolved soon, as seed collection from plants in the Cederberg has become prohibited, the species being listed as vulnerable (Rebelo, 1995; Rourke, 1980; Eliovson, 1973; iNaturalist; iSpot).