Oophytum nanum flowers

The flowers of Oophytum nanum grow from the small slits at the tips of the ovoid leaf bodies. The flower has six fleshy sepals with bluntly pointed tips, their skins similar to the leaf below.

The somewhat haphazard ring (or two) of few petals is purplish pink, white at the base as is the flower centre. The petals are short, oblong to slightly oblanceolate, their tips rounded to slightly notched. The flowers open around noon, closing in late afternoon.

Flowering happens from before midwinter to early spring.

The six-angled fruit capsule, taking its perimeter shape from the six sepals, has five locules. The capsule is positioned directly upon the leaf body and is only 4 mm in diameter. The valves on top open intermittently when wet to release ripe seeds, closing as they dry (Grenier, 2019; Frandsen, 2017; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Smith, et al, 1998; iNaturalist).