Xysmalobium involucratum night photo

This night photo of a Xysmalobium involucratum inflorescence shows the creamy white, acutely pointed corolla lobes, almost always well reflexed around the flower pedicels. There are usually 20 to 30 flowers in an inflorescence, about five of them to a stem. The pedicels are hairy.

The five pale green rounded bulges above the corolla are the corona lobes. Above them rises the gynostegium within which reside the notched and winged anthers, also the styles and stigmas.

The flowers are variably fragrant, sometimes sickly sweet and strong enough to induce headaches. What that does for insect wellbeing is unknown. Pollination is probably proceeding without difficulty as the plant is not endangered early in the twenty first century. Pollination is guessed to be a more daytime affair for this plant than happening at night but fragrance tends to please moths (Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; iSpot; JSTOR; https://pza.sanbi.org).