Roella ciliata opening soon

The nearly furled corolla of the Roella ciliata flower presents the opportunity for a look at the calyx. The flower is sessile, stalkless. The five calyx lobes are long, narrow and green with bristly margins. The sepal tips attenuate thinly and veer away from the corolla base rather than clasping. The calyx is longer than the corolla tube inside it. No floral bracts are seen below the calyx, only normal stem leaves.

The five long petals will soon spread their upper parts around the ample cup in which monkey beetles manoeuvre freely performing the pollination rituals. The pointed petals in this erect position reveal bristly more than hairy bands down the outside centre of each.

The petal colouring later seen in the open corolla already shows through on the outside (Manning, 2007; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).