Turquoise Needleflower

This small flower grows up to 5 inches (13 cm) tall. Its turquoise stem is thin, and the huge, brown leaves are needle-like with irregular edges. Many leaves grow at the base of the stem, and more leaves grow in pairs along the length of the stem.

5 to 9 giant flowers grow on alternate sides up the length of the stem. The flowers are 3 cm (1.2 inches) wide, with caramel petals on the lower layer and dark grey petals decorated with cyan dots on the inner layer. The central disk is pink. The flower head is an uncoordinated mess of 57 curved petals. They are very delicate.

It has a delicate scent that smells like roses, and it has lots of pollen; it can cause severe allergic reactions. It is a self-pollinator, but is also particularly attractive to insects.