Sinningia flowers
The picture shows a selection of Sinningia flowers. They were chosen by a rigorous scientific criterion: they all happened to be in bloom at the beginning of September 2005.
The range of sizes and shapes is striking. Although the main theme is clearly Tubular, there are a number of variations and features to see. For instance:
The galea of Sinningia cardinalis and the pseudo-galea of S. araneosa.The peculiar hump on the top of the tube of S. guttata.
The inflated nectar-holding base of most of the flowers, including tiny S. curtiflora.
The campanulate (bell-shaped) flower of S. conspicua, indicating a difference in pollinator (moths vs. hummingbirds for the red and magenta tubular flowers).
The "stalked-plate" flower of S. schiffneri, which is not a common form in the genus.
The differences between interior and exterior color and markings on a couple of the flowers. It is most obvious for S. guttata, but there is also a noticeable difference in color between the outside (pale red) and inside (intense red) of the corolla in S. warmingii.