Albuca viscosa open capsule

This Little Karoo Albuca viscosa plant carries its dehisced fruit capsule like a triumphant banner over its leaf coils.

The beige walls are now dry and papery, still strong enough to hold the last seeds darkening the lowest part of the capsule. The container remains in an upright position as long as it doesn’t break off, allowing the wind dispersal to happen in instalments.

This creates different opportunities for individual seeds to travel and arrive in changed conditions over time, increasing the probabilities for some of them to succeed, which means to germinate and to grow successfully.