Hermannia lavandulifolia stem-tip growth

Also the young, stem-tip leaves of Hermannia lavandulifolia leaves are folded in along their midribs. Only a short part of the upper stem is soft and creamy, soon turning red-brown and then grey, still velvety for a while as it becomes woody.

The drooping flowers appearing in spring are subtended by finger-like, leafy bracts that outlast them. The old corolla is wasted to a deeper brown than the calyx (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).