Drosanthemum prostratum bud

The bud of a Drosanthemum prostratum flower is covered by five unequal, leaf-like, cylindrical and blunt-tipped sepals. Like the leaves the green sepals are covered in glistening water cells.

The bud is cylindrical but for the five finger-like sepal bulges, tapering in a cone-shape in the receptacle below. In this lower area the water cells of the calyx give way to the hairs of the pedicel.

The old flower in the foreground shows the difference in longevity between petals and sepals (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).