Selago divaricata white flowers, mauve buds

The small, sessile flowers of Selago divaricata grow in spikes. The inflorescences are presented in dense, cylindrical or spherical heads at stem tips and near them.

The corolla tube of each flower is funnel-shaped, longer than its lobes. Flower colour is white or sometimes mauve. On the plant in picture the mauve is reserved for the buds only, displayed on corolla outside surfaces.

The calyx is cup-shaped and five-lobed. The funnel-shaped corolla tube ends in two lips, the central lobe of the bigger lip longer than the rest. The lobes are oblong with rounded tips, spreading around the mouth from where the four stamens exsert their anthers far on thin white filaments (Williamson, 2010; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; JSTOR).