Diplosoma retroversum flowering at two stages

The first winter flower of Diplosoma retroversum is done here, its neighbour still at it. A bit like tiny dolphins or boomerangs, these leaf-pairs housing their flowers at their meeting points.

The leaves also persist and protect the developing fruit capsules within their bodies, right here until seed dispersal. A few reddish and rounded sepal tips are visible among hair-like, white, dead petals. Their duties continue around the developing fruits, long after the flamboyant petals have become history (Frandsen, 2017; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Smith, et al, 1998; iNaturalist; https://www.worldfloraonline.org).