Hilliardiella oligocephala stars after flowers

After the flowers have departed from a Hilliardiella oligocephala plant, the stem tips are left with these white stars, the inside surfaces of the remaining, now spreading bracts.

The involucral bracts let go of the ripe seeds by spreading from their initial erect positions in which they had held the disc florets earlier. A few of the spent flowerheads in the photo still have some loose material not yet dispersed (Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk, et al, 1997; www.plantzafrica.com).