Bobartia gladiata subsp. gladiata buds

These buds of Bobartia gladiata subsp. gladiata, arranged in a fan-shaped cluster, were seen in October in Bainskloof.

The flowers are subtended by a leaf-like, keeled outer bract or spathe of up to 4,5 cm long, which is usually dry by the time the flowers open, but among these buds still green. Whitish translucent inner bracts, smaller and rolled into cylinders, can be seen to envelop the stalks of individual flowers to just below the green ovaries (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot; Wikipedia).