Disperis tysonii buds

The buds of a developing Disperis tysonii inflorescence seen here reveal the fish-bone structure of their arrangement. The stalk in picture zigzags between the lower floral nodes.

The sickle- or boat-shaped bracts, green and purple in colour here, cover the soft corolla segments in protective mode during the early flowering stages, their initial functionality reducing as the flowers develop and prosper.

From five to twenty flowers make up one spike that becomes about 20 cm long (Pooley, 1998).