Phylica pubescens in flower

“The shaggy mophead-like single flowerheads are up to 5 cm across.” This is how Bean and Johns described the Phylica pubescens flowerheads in their book (2005). The minute flowers within the heads are narrowly cup-shaped with tapering sepals enclosing the tube of tiny oval petals. The stamens are attached to the petals on the inside of the tube (Manning, 2007).

But the hairy bracts still win the beauty contest against the flowers in this species!