Holothrix secunda not quite secund

This Holothrix secunda inflorescence seen in the western Little Karoo may be a picture too many of the same plant, although it still manages to show something different, as so many living things do on close inspection.

Almost all the flowers face in the same direction as secund flowers are supposed to. In this spike a few recalcitrant ones face the other way to please insects arriving from the back. The sole, dark-bodied visitor of the moment chose the main route though, although its size suggests that it might soon be sated.

Seen from the side, the green of the ovaries and sepals is conspicuous. The ovary angles up, the flower jointed where it links the parts facing outwards. The recurving lip lobes below the mouth resemble insect legs. Above it the two petals are erect like fingers in a V-sign.

H. secunda inflorescences differ in colour as well as in flower density of the spike.