Berkheya cuneata defending the assets

The bracts around the Berkheya cuneata flowerhead dutifully point their defensive weaponry in strategic directions. The spiny bracts, acutely pointed and rigid, appear very much up to their task.

Jealously protecting florets, fruits and later seeds housed inside, the current stem-tip configuration represents youth, its vital parts still out of sight. The bracts will continue to serve until falling apart around the germinating seeds ready for new life (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist).