Trachyandra falcata ambitious leaf growth abandoned

The dry tips of these Trachyandra falcata leaves have managed curvature beyond what is expected from an ordinary sickle. Falcate means curved or hooked like a sickle.

At bloomtime the geophyte’s stored resources become diverted to the priority parts of flowers and fruit. Leaf-tips are by then expendable, no longer serving a purpose in the vital functions of the plant still to be supported (Manning, 2007; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997).