Harveya huttonii raceme with buds up top

Harveya huttonii has no chlorophyll, and therefore no photosynthetic capacity whatsoever. It is fully dependent upon its host, a true and complete holoparasite. The hemiparasite is a partly parasitic plant with some green leaves, stems or whatever green parts. It does some of its feeding independently, thus being a lesser burden on its host.

And why should host plants be burdened? As they sacrifice while thriving less, they leave space for those lesser species in the competition stakes to succeed only somewhat. And thereby increasing biodiversity. Sharing without insisting on sharing alike is common in nature. It multiplies sharers without dabbling in moralism as people do.

But people represent just the one among many species with special, brain-based adaptation for survival. People must really appear funny to other, emerging species with a sense of humour or irony. If there are already such on earth. Look hard once more at your cat and dog. Forget the budgie for now! There's still so much we don't know.

The not-green-at-all raceme of H. huttonii must have pedicels on its flowers, otherwise it would be a spike. The corollas emerge and unfurl soonest at the base of the raceme. Their wide, cylindrical tubes are hairy, orange to yellowish and ridged, less impressive than the wavy, colourful lobes at their tips that appear to flutter as they try to catch pollinator eyes. The base of every corolla tube is narrowly constricted.

Tomorrow’s flowers in bud are higher up, the sepals harder and rougher than the corollas, endowed for protecting the still unused, softer marketing material inside. Expect a dramatic revelation on another sunny morning when insects come searching for nourishment yet again (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; Visser, 1981; iNaturalist).