Lachenalia, pretty flowers and an old camouflage jacket.

Bright yellow flower tubes hanging around, waiting for a pollinator. Large dark dots cover the leaves and spike like a camouflage jacket.

A long way from the harsh landscape of its native South Africa a Lachenalia plant basks in the weak winter Kumeu sun. Lachenalia has adapted when challenged by reduced pollinator numbers. This genus willingly changes partners to meet its needs or pollinates itself.

New Phytollogist: You can’t always get what you need.

The layered tepal look.

Unsure if it’s a petal for show or a sepal for protection play-safe, call it a tepal. Not long after the bud cracks open, a magenta-tipped inner layer creeps out, growing past the outer tepal layer.

Smashed open.

Heavy rain during a sudden thunderstorm opened this flower for a closer look. The anthers caught my eye first.

One anther has begun dehiscing, pollen still neatly packed inside.

The dark-coloured pistil hangs around the flower opening. Visiting bees would drop pollen off there, clumsily seeking their nectar payback at the base of the flower tube.

Two layers of tepals. They have a tough rubbery feel; maybe I haven’t looked after the plant properly. I’m not a gardener.

The outer layer looks more sepal like. The inner layer flares out towards the tip.

Fade to yellow.

Bright orange green and mauve colours fade to yellow with time.

The ovary is divided into three compartments. Anthers have split open, turned inside out, pollen there for the taking.

I’m not a botanist so this is a best guess. The tube appearing to come from the ovary is thicker than the anther filaments. It is probably the style supporting a small stigma at the flower entrance. The flower was dry when I opened it. The liquid which spilled out is possibly nectar.

There is no significance to the hieroglyphs beside the picture label. Picture editing minor catastrophe.