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The seed pod of S. amambayensis is very ball-like, much closer to a sphere than the fruits of most other sinningias. It does have a point where the style is attached. The style is persistent, remaining on the developing fruit long after it has dried up. The calyx wraps entirely around the fruit; when the fruit is ripe, the calyx lobes separate, and the fruit inside splits open. The most interesting feature, however, is the way the pedicel curls. After pollination and the fall of the flower, the pedicel begins to bend, eventually doing a more-than-180-degree rotation to bring the developing fruit underneath the leafstalk in whose axil it originated. In the picture, the pedicel of the ripe fruit on the right has turned through almost a complete 360 degrees. (This fruit was harvested a few hours after the picture was taken.) [The picture was heavily photoshopped to bring out detail, so the colors are not true. The leaves, stems, and fruits are lighter green than shown.] The seeds of S. amambayensis are larger than those of most sinningias. Instead of being tiny bits of red dust, they are small bits of red grit. |