Pterygodium magnum flowers and opening buds

A Pterygodium magnum inflorescence is a dense, cylindrical spike of many, small flowers. The whitish lips in the flowers of this Pterygodium face downward and have fringed margins. This is one of the pterygodiums that used to be a Corycium.

There are similar fringes on the pair of lateral petals of each flower. The red purple and dull yellow petals angle in to meet at the top of the flower, accentuating the hood already provided by the inconspicuous green sepal behind. The petal margins are somewhat round below. Two pollen sacs are positioned at the end of the horseshoe-shaped part of the column in the flower centre.

Above the flowers in picture a few buds are in various stages of opening. This is the time when sepals still dominate in flowers, green, smooth-edged and pointed. The top sepal in each bud serves as a hat, the laterals as protective arms. Covering the parts in their care is their only concern.

Flowering commences before midsummer and continues until autumn, or slightly earlier, depending on the region in the overall range of the species (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org).