Brunia noduliflora flowerhead close-up

The spherical Brunia noduliflora flowerheads close-up show unexpected detail, like when a space mission brings the camera close to a distant planet. There is no fluffy covering of stamens at this stage any longer although some solitary floral parts retain erect positions. The visible floret parts including non-functional stamens appear like greyish white frizzy hair.

The small, triangular leaves spiral up the pale stems, their acute tips curving in only slightly (Bean and Johns, 2005).