Tarchonanthus camphoratus in bloom

These panicles of Tarchonanthus camphoratus flowerheads are creamy, sometimes nearly white, on other trees yellowish and varying in size.

The male and female flowers grow on separate trees of this dioecious species. Male flowerheads have more individual florets per head than the female ones.

The inflorescence is covered in woolly hairs. So are the fruits, the small nutlets that follow. There is a fragrance to the flowers, retained into the fruiting phase (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com).