Zaluzianskya rubrostellata closed flowers in daytime

Zaluzianskya rubrostellata or night phlox is a nocturnal flowering annual herb of the snapdragon or Scrophulariaceae family. It grows in high altitude basaltic soils. This plant was photographed in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area of the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg.

The leaves of Z. rubrostellata are narrowly elliptic, thickly fleshy and markedly toothed with acute tips.

The 55 species comprising the Zaluzianskya genus are all endemic to southern Africa (iSpot; www.maliba-lodge.com).