Cyphia digitata twining

Cyphia digitata is a geophytic climber to 60 cm, accessing surrounding vegetation as may be conveniently available; here a few dry sticks only. The photo was taken in the Biedouw Valley in September.

These plants start flowering before midwinter and may keep doing so through spring. Nearly white here, flower colour ranges from white to mauve, the outside of the corolla precisely that but pale. Three small markings, faint on the flowers in picture, occur inside the corolla at the bases of the upper petal lobes.

The alternate leaves are sparsely spaced along the snaking stems. On this plant they are mainly three-lobed, but range from simple to seven-lobed (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist).