Pseudoselago spuria hosting the beetles

The mauve flowers of Pseudoselago spuria grow in flat-topped clusters of spikes at stem tips. Flowers growing in a spike have no stalks. The flowers are funnel-shaped and two-lipped.

The two petal lobes forming the upper lip of the corolla have dark patches at the base. These markings are often orange on Spuria flowers and are absent on the three lobes of the lower lip. The central lobe of the lower lip is markedly longer than the lateral ones that are similar in size and shape to the lobes of the upper lip.

The four stamens occur in two unequal pairs. The pollinators active here are thought to be monkey beetles or scarab beetles of the Hopliini tribe. Neither the pale anthers on the erect stamens nor the flower stigmas should be missed by these hairy visitors, only here to extract nectar from the flower tubes (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iSpot).