Leucadendron xanthoconus male flowerhead

The male Leucadendron xanthoconus flowerhead buds are yellow in deeper shade than the involucre around them, or the male pollen florets open below them. The flowerhead overall is slightly elongated beyond globose but not quite cylindrical, somewhat ellipsoid, the head topped by a white central spot, leftovers where florets did not develop.

Each male floret in bud is covered by a perianth that appears slightly incurving, the floret tips slightly spaced in forming the regular flowerhead in waiting. Lower down, once the perianths have recurved, the styles become exposed. They are structurally female floral parts but function differently in these male heads. They serve in receiving pollen transferred to their tips, the pollen presenters, from the insides of the retracting perianth segment tips.

This is where visiting pollinators, only looking for a bite to eat, come into contact with pollen grains needing transportation to stigmas on female cones found on a different plant of the same species. Certain small beetles, particularly Pria cinerascens, perform this function (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; Mustart, et al, 1997; Rebelo, 1995; iNaturalist; https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za).