The warm orange-brown colouring on the prominently curved upper lips of the Salvia africana-lutea corollas tends to fade to a dull brown as the flowers age. The yellow referred to in part of the species name, lutea, is waited for in vain.
The greenish, gland-dotted calyces, purplish on the inside, spread their lobed lips around the rest of the flowers. The calyces will last for some time, longer than the corollas, giving the impression of being the real and total flowers themselves, or, in fantasy world, that they may have consumed the other flower parts!
The short pedicels, calyces and corollas are all hairy on the plant in picture, while calyces and corollas show roughly uneven, even wrinkly surfaces (Manning, 2007; www.plantzafrica.com).