Astridia vanheerdei

This flowering specimen of Astridia vanheerdei was spotted in the Daberas Pass just south of the Gariep River in June. The inner petals can be seen to be shorter than the outer ones, a characteristic of the genus. It is not easy to say whether the petals occur in two whorls or more, as they are presented in such a dishevelled arrangement. Some inner petals are shorter. The petal bases are white as are the filaments of the staminodes and stamens in the central column. The yellow colouring of some anthers is visible at the top of the column that is not clearly coherent.

The leaf pairs have thin purplish red seams where the margins and leaf keel create a semblance of triangular shape. The strongly succulent leaves show some withering from moisture sacrifice even in winter here, maybe due to the demands of flower production. Not every winter brings adequate rain in this barren land (Smith, et al, 1998; iSpot).