Brabejum stellatifolium being busy

Prolific flower production of Brabejum stellatifolium may render these trees in festive costume at peak bloom time during a good year. Flower spikes of about 8 cm long grow in profusion from leaf axils at stem tips.

The usually bisexual flowers are white and sweetly scented. The four perianth sections separate from each other in opening to the base, recurving strongly. The small rust-coloured bracts fall from the spike when the flowers open. The flowers are only 5 mm long but numerous, opening to swell the thin, lemon-yellow bud spikes into the wider, white flourishes that exalt the insect multitudes. Insectivorous birds do not mind either.

Branches covered in smooth, greyish brown bark are also in picture (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com).