Diascia patens, another flower colour

    Diascia patens, another flower colour
    Author: Ivan Lätti
    Photographer: Francelle van Zyl

    There are colour differences in Diascia patens flowers, easily surveyed when checking the plant photos presented in iNaturalist. This peach to apricot version is not uncommon in the mix.

    The central pair of lobes in the upper lip are close to merged into one, separated only by a shallow notch. The small yellow patch inside the upper wall of the cup is only a minor throat blotch, probably not worth much as a nectar guide. The more conspicuous yellow part raised above the cup, thickened and oblong near the base of the lower lip, appears more qualified in the nectar guide sense. It is not an anther, for the four Diascia stamens, usually only two with anthers, are positioned inside the throat, the upper part of the corolla tube (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; http://pza.sanbi.org).

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