Struthiola ciliata flowers

This flowering stem tip photographed near Hermanus, thought to be Struthiola ciliata, has whitish borders along the leaf margins, suggesting the hair fringes of the said plant. Whether the visible fringes are really hairs is debatable.

The leaves are blunt-tipped, not as pointed as one expects from S. ciliata. The blades adhere to the stems, as one does expect. It does not always happen in the species, however, and some others struthiolas may also present their leaves like this, notably S. leptantha that has blunter leaf tips. The latter species is not seen near Hermanus too often.

Some of the petal scales have curious white tips (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Manning, (Ed.), 2017; Manning, 2007; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).