Rauvolfia caffra branched inflorescence

The sweetly fragrant flowers of Rauvolfia caffra grow in large, dense cymes. These somewhat flat-topped sprays are conspicuous at stem-tips, up to 20 cm in diameter.

The small, waxy flowers are white once their corollas are visible. The hairless calyces initially covering the narrow buds are creamy yellow or green. The bisexual flower has five small sepals, each divided almost to its base. The calyx tends to persist.

The petals form a cylindrical to trumpet-shaped tube, the corolla thickened at the mouth, its throat hairy. The five, rounded petal lobes are small and spreading, shorter than the corolla tube. Flower dimensions are 4 mm long and 2 mm wide.

The five stamens are attached to the insides of the petals, higher up than halfway in the corolla tube and arising together in the centre of it. The anthers are about as long as their filaments. The ovary is superior (positioned above the petal bases). There are two carpels per flower, bearing one erect ovule in each locule.

Flowering happens in winter and early spring.

Monkeys won’t always wait for the fruits to appear, also eating the flowers as well as the leaves. Bees and butterflies frequent the nectar-producing flowers (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).