Erica articularis var. articularis flowers

The flowers of Erica articularis var. articularis grow in clusters of three at stem tips and spur shoots on short stalks. The flowers face upwards, outwards or nod. Small, erect bracts are present at the flower bases, their position approximate, i.e. close to the sepals and slightly spreading. These bracts are elliptic in shape and coloured the same as the sepals.

The four large sepals are keeled to rounded, tapering to acute tips that may curve inwards slightly. The sepals are flower coloured and dominate in the inflorescence appeal, also because the corollas turn brown early. The sepals give the flower a somewhat square appearance seen from the top; one opposite pair of sepals overlapping the other. The slight outward spread of the sepals away from and around the narrowly urn-shaped corolla allows it to stand slightly taller than the calyx.

The corollas are constricted near their tips, the four rounded lobe tips of each around the protruding flower mouth. The styles and brown anthers are contained inside the corolla mouths but clear to see, the stigmas sometimes seen as well.

Flower colour is pale to bright pink. The blooming season is long, from midwinter to midautumn (Manning and Helme, 2024; iNaturalist; iSpot; www.fernkloof.com).