Phylica villosa raceme

Phylica villosa flowers grow in a raceme at or near a stem-tip, each subtended by a leaf, here possibly called a bract. The flowers thus spaced up the stem are different to many Phylica species bearing short, dense clusters at the stem-tip.

Flowering happens from late summer to after midwinter. The photo was taken in August.

The flower colour is more varied than white, particularly in the five anthers forming a ring in the mouth. They darken with age, i.e. those lower down in the raceme gaining colour rather than losing it.

The five triangular corolla lobes around the cup’s rim follow suit, bearded on their outer surfaces and angled slightly upwards (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).