Adenandra villosa buds as well

Adenandra, generally called China flower on account of its typical porcelain white petal colour, is an interesting genus comprising 18 species, all endemic to the fynbos region. The genus forms part of the Rutaceae or citrus family, as do other prominent fynbos genera such as Agathosma, Acmadenia and Coleonema.

Some reddish buds, half covered by green calyces, form part of the stem tip flower clusters of this Adenandra villosa plant. Another species, A. uniflora with similar flowers, bears them solitary at stem tips or usually so; the "usually" presenting yet another grey area complication for students.

Continuous variables, common in the biological world as opposed to discrete ones also common in the great diversity, pose the challenge of introducing arbitrary cut-off points for forming discrete classes that can be labelled. This helps understanding for those in agreement, but usually defies consensus among people because minds diverge randomly by nature, converging through education, culture or the use of force.

Petals suffused with pink rather than porcelain white were well represented in Bainskloof where these photos were taken. Next time, next spot may be different (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iSpot).