After botching a flask of Den harveyanum seedlings, I decided to go for instant gratification so I bought a mature spiking plant. It had three spikes with multiple buds, but I watched in dismay as the buds blasted one after another. Somehow, one bud still survived and bloomed.
The second picture shows a close-up of the "hairs." Reminds me of trees, corals, or maybe blood vessels?