Heather Angel / Cat's whiskers / Black bat flower (Tacca chantrieri). Pollinated by flies. Cultivated in glasshouse, Surrey, England, UK. Native to Southeast Asia.

Heather Angel / Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), three nectaring on Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), resting on red bracts. In butterfly house, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China.

Heather Angel / Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), taken with infra-red thermograph camera in swamp area. Spadix hottest at 22C. In cultivation, Surrey, England, UK. Native to Canada and USA. Sequence 2/2.

Heather Angel / Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) in visible light. In cultivation, Surrey, England, UK. Native to Canada and USA. Sequence 1/2.

Heather Angel / Handkerchief / Dove tree (Davidia involucrata), male inflorescence enclosed by bracts which act as an umbrella to prevent rain spoiling pollen. Endemic to Sichuan, north west Yunnan, Guizhou and Hubei...

Heather Angel / Alexander's rhubarb (Rheum alexandrae) and Dwarf purple rhododendron (Rhododendron impeditum) in wet valley with low cloud. Large bracts on rhubarb protect tiny flowers from UV light. Near Lake Ka...

Eladio Fernandez / Carossier oil palm (Attalea crassispatha). Sheathing bract enclosing flower cluster. Les Cayes, Haiti, Hispaniola.

Eladio Fernandez / Carossier oil palm (Attalea crassispatha). Sheathing bract enclosing flower cluster. Les Cayes, Haiti. Hispaniola.

Robert Thompson / Goat's beard (Tragopogon crocifolius). Catlar, Pyrenees Orientales, south west France. May.

Robin Chittenden / Portland spurge (Euphorbia portlandica), Dorset, UK. April.

Paul Harcourt Davies / Frog orchid (Coeloglossum viride) flower, Mt Terminillo, Lazio, Italy, July.

Alex Hyde / Frog Orchid (Coeloglossum viride) Nordtirol, Austrian Alps. July.