Zaluzianskya microsiphon short flower spike

The flowers of Zaluzianskya microsiphon grow without pedicels in spikes from leaf axils at stem-tips. The corolla has a cylindrical tube that becomes 4 cm, occasionally over 5 cm long, widening slightly towards the mouth. The tube is faintly hairy and longitudinally lined here, similarly coloured as the outer petal lobe surfaces in its upper part and duller below.

Why this plant is commonly known as short-tube drumsticks isn't clear. Several Zaluzianskya species have notably shorter corolla tubes. Maybe those sharing the Drakensberg region are all longer, some not by much. (Pooley writes that the tubes are shorter in some regions.)

Unlike many other Zaluzianskya species, the flowers are two-lipped or zygomorphic, i.e. not radially symmetric. The upper two petals, the upper lip, are erect and positioned close together, a bit like antlers. Two of the lower three face outwards to the sides and recurve. The middle one faces down and slightly forward on the plant in picture. All the petals are white on their inner surfaces, dull purplish red on the outer. Petal-shape is deeply notched at the tip as Zaluzianskya flowers commonly are, the lobes rounded and tapering towards the base. The petals are sometimes wavier than seen here. Yellow stamens, possibly four of them, are slightly exserted in the small flower mouths.

Flowering happens in summer to midautumn.

The stem leaves are darker near their pointed tips in picture, decreasing as floral bracts up the spike. The margins are hairy, the midribs pale, fading upwards (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; iSpot).