Schotia brachypetala ovary and ripe pollen

The superior ovary of the Schotia brachypetala flower in picture is long, narrow and angular amidst its ring of stamens. It is a different red to the filaments and sepals, shiny water cells upon its surface. The long, cylindrical style protrudes from the top of the ovary, the tiny, lobed stigma at its tip.

The ten stamens, when theyre all present, are joined at the base, not as tall as the style. The flower-coloured filaments curve in just before their tips. The ripe anthers are dark with creamy yellow, granular pollen along the lobes, freed from the opened slits in their bodies.

The round-tipped sepals are much shorter than the stamens, angling out around them and fleshy as are all the inner floral parts (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Pooley, 1993).