Metarungia longistrobus flowers

The curved, tubular flowers of Metarungia longistrobus are densely clustered in cone-shaped spikes at stem-tips and in leaf axils. There is a sharp-tipped bract with transparent margins at the base of each flower. The flower spikes become 5 cm to 9 cm long.

The narrow, two-lipped corollas are yellowish to orange or orange-brown in colour; the lower lip much smaller than the upper one, rolled-up and twisted. Flowering happens from midsummer to early spring, peaking in autumn.

The specific name, longistrobus, is derived from the Latin word longus meaning long or extended and the Greek word strobilus meaning a pine cone, referring to the overlapping arrangement of the flowers in the spike. The generic name refers to the similarity of the genus to plants of the Rungia genus.

The fruit is a small, woody capsule, partly hidden behind the bract (Schmidt, et al, 2002; Onderstall, 1994; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).