Serruria acrocarpa open flowers

These Serruria acrocarpa flowerheads were seen in the Rooiberg near Van Wyksdorp during October. The plant is sometimes known as the Hawekwas spiderhead, named for the Hawekwas Mountains east of Wellington.

The flowerheads appear dishevelled after the individual flowers have opened, the curving styles and discarded perianth segments bending about in all directions. Whether it is the leaves or the flowers that brought the Serruria genus the name of spiderhead is not clear, but this photo would help to make a case for the flowers. The heads have oval involucral bracts that are well hidden at the stage depicted (Manning, 2007).