The base of the Piaranthus geminatus subsp. geminatus fruit, a follicle pair, emerges from a short, stout, erect stalk. The fruit grows from a stem-tip where flowers normally sprout in Piaranthus species.
The pointed sepals are still present, possibly contributing to the grip on the structure necessary until ripeness. By that time the side of the follicle splits, releasing numerous winged seeds with hairy appendages on the wind as there may be. The seeds are flat and narrow, brown in colour.
The brighter purple neighbouring leaves belong to a Curio radicans plant, equally at home while stressed in the arid conditions prevailing on this hillside near Calitzdorp. The photo was taken in September (Sloane and White, 1937; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).