Codon royenii lyre-shaped dead remains

Marcescence can be an art form! Codon royenii plants tend to retain some skeletal flower remains, decorative among live, growing parts.

As the moisture drains out, causing soft tissue to disappear, the lyre-shaped structure latent in the substantial parts conjure elegance. The little lyres consist of both the long-spined bracts that grew around the flower and the thinner, small-spined sepals around the now disappeared corolla.

Apart from the real spines present, a sparse to dense covering of robust, off-white hairs or lesser spines also grow on stems and bracts (Le Roux, et al, 2005; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Eliovson, 1990; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; http://pza.sanbi.org).