Satyrium carneum bracts

The short, broad bract below each flower of Satyrium carneum is more clearly seen when looking at the inflorescence from an angle below the flowers. The bracts are broadly ovate, tapering to acutely pointed tips that are often obscured by the median sepal or lateral petal tips curling over them.

The bract surface has a fleshy texture, a brown colour; a few longitudinal veins run nearly straight up it. Partly deflexed, the bract shows a slight bend low down on its blade, but resists the downward pressure from the flower, adhering closely to it. The margins of the bracts are minutely ciliate, i.e. fringed with fine hairs (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; www.plantzafrica.com).