Agathosma betulina flower

The star-shaped white or sometimes pale pink flowers of Agathosma betulina grow on short branchlets from leaf axils during winter and spring. The five ovate petals in picture do not conform to one rigid shape. They can be 8 mm to 10 mm long.

Five long filaments, tapering to their tips like Greek temple columns, are topped by dull coloured anthers, not the scroll-shaped ornaments that top Ionian pillars. The (young) anthers are sometimes pinkish purple. There are five white, lance-shaped staminodes (sterile stamens without anthers) in the gaps between the stamens; mere redundant backup that will never feature in the procreative proceedings.

The olive-green ovary in the flower centre is superior and segmented into five distinct carpels. Inside them the ova, eggs or female reproductive cells can be fertilised by arriving pollen grains to result in fruits and seeds. There is a cup-shaped nectar disc under the ovary for the benefit of pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies.

A green five-segmented, angular fruit capsule that splits when ripe follows the flower (Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).