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''Macledium spinosum'' is a variable species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, that is endemic to the southern Cape regions of
A low, compact, spreading shrub, reaching a maximum of 50 cm in height. The leaves are small (15 x 5mm), spiny, with a grey, velvet leaf-surface.
The wide (20mm) protea-like flowerheads appear in Spring and Summer, and range in colour from white to purple.
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
A low, compact, spreading shrub, reaching a maximum of 50 cm in height. The leaves are small (15 x 5mm), spiny, with a grey, velvet leaf-surface.
The wide (20mm) protea-like flowerheads appear in Spring and Summer, and range in colour from white to purple.
Related species
A closely related species, ''Macledium relhanioides
''Macledium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. Both ''Macledium'' and ''Dicoma
''Dicoma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, native to Africa and the Middle East.Schatz, G. E., S. Andriambololonera, And ...
'', occurs in similar areas in the western Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ...
and Overberg
__NOTOC__
Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...
, but tends to be confined to quartzitic outcrops and quartz-fields.
''Macledium relhanioides
''Macledium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. Both ''Macledium'' and ''Dicoma
''Dicoma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, native to Africa and the Middle East.Schatz, G. E., S. Andriambololonera, And ...
'' differs by having longer leaves (20mm) and smaller flowerheads (10mm) that have prominent pink, spiny bracts (but only rudimentary ray-florets).
Distribution and habitat
This species can be found from Worcester in the west, eastwards through theLittle Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ...
and Overberg
__NOTOC__
Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...
regions, as far east as Somerset East.
It is most common in clay-rich, shale-derived soils, in Renosterveld
Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregio ...
and Succulent Karoo vegetation types.
References
Further reading
* ''KwaZulu-Natal Wild Flowers'' by Elsa Pooley, p. 446. * Lawalrée, A. & Mvukiyumwami, J. 1982. ''Le genre Dicoma Cassini (Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...
) en Afrique centrale''. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique National de Belgique 52: 151-163.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15555066
Dicoma
Flora of South Africa
Renosterveld