Serruria florida

Serruria.

A genus of about 55 species from South Africa.
They are single or multi-stemmed and prostrate to erect.
Shrubs grow up to 1.5 m high and about 1 m wide.
The green stems may be tinted red.

Most have leaves that are divided into narrow, cylindrical segments.
There can be up to 70 segments that usually have a sharp tip.
A few species have simple, undivided leaves.
Leaves, on stalks, can be smooth or covered in silvery hairs.

Flowerheads are near the ends of the stems.
In some species they are solitary but there can be up to 50 on a stem.
They can be branched, unbranched or umbel-like.

Most species have a whorl or involucre of bracts (modified leaves) below the flowerhead.
There may be few or many overlapping bracts that can conceal much of the flowerhead.
Bracts can be ovate, lanceolate or linear and up to around 14 mm long.
They can be smooth or have short or long hairs on them.
Some have wings and others have a keel or thickened midrib.
Colours include white, cream, carmine, yellow, orange or purplish.
Some have darker tips.

Each often hairy flowerhead consists of a few up to 40 small flowers or florets.
Florets are usually straight but occasionally curved and have conspicuous floral bracts.
The 4 tepals are free except at the base and can be hairless or have long or short hairs.
The superior ovary has a straight or curved style that can be smooth or have hairs at the base.
The fruit is a small hard nut.

Serruria florida.
Blushing Bride is cultivated for its long-stemmed and long lasting flowers.
The green stems are tinted red and the bases of the petioles are swollen.
Leaves, around 7 cm long, are dissected into cylindrical segments.
There are up to 8 flowerheads near the stem tip.
The ovate, ivory to pale pink involucral bracts are 2 to 4 cm long and have no hairs.
The floral bracts are hairy.

Serruria rosea has involucral bracts with a deeper pink central stripe and hairy edges.
There are a few hybrids between Serruria florida and Serruria rosea.

J.F.