Helichrysum zeyheri flowerheads and cobwebs

A branched inflorescence of Helichrysum zeyheri comprises a large flat-topped cluster, a corymb of small pink flowerheads that fade to white.

Each flowerhead contains about five tiny flowers or florets, enveloped in four or five rows of white to pale beige involucral bracts. A flowerhead reaches a diameter of 4 mm.

Flowering happens in summer. The state of this ageing inflorescence, photographed near Oudtshoorn in April is accentuated by spider activity (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008).