''Leucadendron flexuosum'', the Worcester conebush, is a flower-bearing

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

belonging to the genus '' Leucadendron'' and forms part of the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

. The plant is native to the Western Cape, where it occurs in the Breede River Valley near Worcester.

Description

The shrub grows tall and flowers from April to May. The plant survives fires by sprouting from an underground rhizome. The seeds are stored in a toll on the female plant and fall out of the toll ground, which is spread by the wind. The plant is unisexual and there are separate plants with male and female flowers, which are pollinated by small towers. The plant grows mainly on water-rich plains in deep, rocky soil at an elevation of . In Afrikaans, it is known as the .

Gallery

Leucadendron flexuosum 18284749.jpg Leucadendron flexuosum 18885894.jpg

References

* http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=794-48 * http://biodiversityexplorer.info/plants/proteaceae/leucadendron_flexuosum.htm * https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/conebu.htm IUCN Red List critically endangered species flexuosum {{Proteaceae-stub