Bowiea volubilis subsp. volubilis flowers

The flowers of Bowiea volubilis subsp. volubilis grow in large, convoluted inflorescences comprising many fleshy, bright green stems that branch and scramble. Each small flower is solitary on a long stalk.

The yellow-green flower, pale and slender, has a six-pointed star-shape formed by its free, narrowly lance-shaped tepals that spread or flex backwards, each tapering to a rounded tip.

The six stamens are also free like the tepals, erect in a ring around the superior ovary visible in the centre; each stamen arising from the base of a tepal. The stamens are tipped with tiny, cream, oblong anthers. The about globular ovary is topped by a short, terete or cylindrical style with a three-lobed stigma at its tip.

Flowering happens from midsummer to early autumn. The photo was taken in January (Pooley, 1998; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; www.plantzafrica.com).