Babiana bainesii stamens and styles

Inside a Babiana bainesii flower the styles and stamens are close together, positioned over the centre. There are three sturdy, dark blue stamens in picture, the three slender style branches taller over them. The short-stalked ovary of this Babiana is hairless.

The stamens and style are not strongly associated with the dorsal tepal as in some flowers of the species. The white tepal markings in these pale flower are tentative, while the stronger, dark, curved markings on the lower tepals are intriguing. Some tepal tips in view also have deeper colouring. Maybe the less marked tepal differences associate with a more radially symmetrical flower structure. The large geographical distribution of the species may have added to intraspecies differences (Manning, 2009; Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; Lowrey and Wright, 1987; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; https://wildflowernursery.co.za).