Tetragonia fruticosa ovaries growing wings

The long-stalked Tetragonia fruticosa flowers grow from upper leaf axils in groups of two to five. The yellow perianths in their later stages have nearly closed, the ovaries behind them already swelling into fruit.

The four red-rimmed fruit wings in different stages of development will still grow considerably, while the more floral parts on top of them, comprising five segments dwindle.

When this wide, the leaves of T. fruticosa, sometimes much narrower by the sea (as in Walker Bay) than here in Namaqualand north of Springbok, resemble those of T. decumbens that only grows near the coast.

The stem in picture appears four-angled, red and green sharing the visible sides (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Manning, 2007; Le Roux, 2005).