Protea compacta flowerheads, current and past

Leaves and bracts around the Protea compacta flowerhead point upwards predominantly, in a seemingly Gothic style. Choosing direction varies much among living things. Some don’t even lift their heads. Others bear roots above-ground.

It is the energy grown in the green that makes this floral accomplishment possible. It is the year-by-year commitment that produces a new flowerhead a short distance above last year’s head. The old ones are now reduced to browned leftovers. One may be even older than last year. And it is the harmony among all the diverse parts that makes the living organism function, as a member of its species, as a participant in its ecology.