Diascia whiteheadii corolla cup

The inside of the Diascia whiteheadii flower is a wide cup, pointed at its top where the four rounded petal lobes of the upper lip form a fringe over the cup. A row of yellow dots or windows is visible along the margin between these lobes and the cup. At the base, the solitary lobe of the lower corolla lip is larger, sometimes rounded as here, sometimes notched.

In this photo one has to imagine the openings into the two diverging spurs from the cup base, not visible from the outside. This is where the Rediviva bee inserts her long hairy forelegs for obtaining the flower’s oil, used in feeding her young.

The four stamens in two unequal pairs and topped by yellow anthers are all twisted together. They are prominent in the flower centre and impossible for the bee to miss as it probes for oil.

Oil exploration has always been a dark affair where determination to tackle the invisible plays an important role (Manning, 2007; Manning and Goldblatt, 1997; iNaturalist).