Crabbea acaulis budding

This new growth in the centre of a Crabbea acaulis leaf rosette harbours the beginnings of a new inflorescence.

Several leafy bracts, long and hairier than the leaves, are present. They have out-curving, narrow tips, enveloping the new bud(s) ostentatiously before opening. Soft, often recurved marginal spines grow on the bracts. Their midribs and lateral vein bases are purple in the photo.

One or two compact cyme-shaped inflorescences are borne in the centre of a leaf rosette (Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).