''Leucadendron rubrum'', the spinning top, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Leucadendron ''Leucadendron'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type. Description Species in the genus ''Leucadendro ...

'' and forms part of the fynbos. The plant is native to the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Description

Leucadendron rubrum f Nicola van Berkel 3

The shrub grows tall and flowers from August to September. Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a toll on the female plant and are released where they are spread by the wind. The seed has a parachute mechanism that allows it to float and rotate through the air. The plant is

unisexual Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

and there are male and female plants that reproduce by

wind pollination Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. Other common anemophilous pla ...

. In Afrikaans, it is known as .

Distribution and habitat

The plant occurs in the Bokkeveld, Gifberg,

Cederberg The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree en ...

to the

Hottentots Holland Mountains The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed of T ...

and

Riviersonderend Mountains The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. They ...

, Touwsberg,

Rooiberg Rooiberg is a town in Waterberg District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Town, archaeological site and tin-mining area, 50 km west-north-west of Warmbad, at the conjunction of the Springbok Flats with the Waterberg Pl ...

Kammanassie Mountains The Kammanassie Mountains (Kammanassieberge in Afrikaans) are a mountain range in the Western Cape, South Africa. The highest peak is Mannetjiesberg at 1,955 metres above sea level and the mountain range is one of the prominent east-west trending ...

Piketberg Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...

, and the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which li ...

. It grows mainly in granite or sandstone at altitudes of .

Gallery

File:Leucadendron rubrum m Nicola van Berkel 5.jpg File:Leucadendron rubrum.jpg File:Leucadendron rubrum 1DS-II 2-3767.jpg File:Leucadendron rubrum m Nicola van Berkel 2.jpg

References

*http://pza.sanbi.org/leucadendron-rubrum *http://biodiversityexplorer.info/plants/proteaceae/leucadendron_rubrum.htm *http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=794-115 *https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/conebu4.htm {{Taxonbar, from=Q15583916 rubrum Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman