Gum Blossoms 1

A close-up photo of a cluster of gum tree flowers. Each flower consists of a cup shape which will later harden into a gumnut. Most are still in the flower stage, with a thick fringe of short, red filaments topped by cream anthers round the edge of the open cup. Each flower has a single cream stigma rising from the heart. One or two flowers have shed their filaments and closed off the cup with a lid. These cups, or nuts, are off-white in colour, with a faint stain of purple in a band around the top.