Gossypium herbaceum subsp. africanum capsule husk

The spent grey husk that remains of a Gossypium herbaceum subsp. africanum fruit capsule retains its open stance on the branch. It hangs on in vain to a limited afterlife, dangling precariously on an articulated stalk over some fresh green leaves.

Vigorous young leaf growth at the existential opposite of the forlorn capsules demise promises dynamic action; more of the same to appear forthwith. The message is clear: The ephemeral nature of individual life or the loss of a once useful body part never impacts upon the lust for life in the species (Pooley, 1998; Onderstall, 1996; Letty, 1962; iSpot; Mannheimer and Curtis, (Eds.), 2009; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).