Gomphocarpus tomentosus

The flowers of Gomphocarpus tomentosus grow in nodding umbels from leaf axils, about three to seven flowers per umbel. The five broadly elliptic corolla lobes taper to greenish tips in the photo. These lobes, hairy on the outside and hairless inside, are sometimes brown in colour or even tinged with pink. The lobes are reflexed, bending backwards from the base, but their acutely pointed tips curve inwards.

Inside the corolla five whitish corona lobes, narrowly oblong with rounded tips, form a star shape. The points of the corona coincide with the gaps between the corolla lobes. The corona surrounds the central staminal column that looks greenish, flat-topped and round in the flower centre (iSpot; JSTOR; www.zimbabweflora.co.zw).