''Paranomus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of 18

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s, commonly known as "sceptres", in the

protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mo ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Cape Floristic Region The Cape Floral Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province. The Cap ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Distribution and habitat

The species occur mainly in mountainous areas of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

provinces from the

Cederberg The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, Western Cape, Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia cedarbe ...

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

, with the highest numbers found in the districts of Caledon, Worcester and

Swellendam Swellendam () is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape D ...

. They are often associated with

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

habitats.

Etymology

The genus was named by English

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Richard Anthony Salisbury Richard Anthony Salisbury (born Richard Anthony Markham; 2 May 1761 – 23 March 1829) was a British botanist. While he carried out valuable work in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by hi ...

from its unusual leaves, from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''para'' ("illegal" or "contrary"), and ''nomos'' ("custom" or "law"). It was subsequently renamed ''Nivenia'' by rival botanist

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

to honour plant collector James Niven, but Salisbury's name has priority. They are commonly known as “sceptres” or “sceptre plants” for the shape of their

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s and after the first of the genus to be described, ''P. sceptrum-gustavianus'' – “King Gustav's sceptre”, in 1777.

Description

All species are

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s, though some can grow quite large; for example ''P. tomentosus'' may become, at up to high, a small tree. Like the closely related serrurias they have divided leaves, though a distinctive feature of the genus is that individual plants of some species can bear both normal leaves and ones that are only minimally or even undivided. Other strange features of the leaves are that they do not have distinct upper and lower surfaces and their venation is primitive. The flowerheads are spike-like inflorescences in which the flowers are grouped into fours, with each group of four carried beneath a leathery bract. The shell-like bracts remain on the plant for a year or longer, well after the seeds have dropped off. The plants are not serotinous. They do not resprout after fires but regenerate from seeds which are shed soon after flowering.

Species

Described species include: * '' Paranomus abrotanifolius'' Salisb. ex Knight – Bredasdorp sceptre * '' Paranomus adiantifolius'' Salisb. ex Knight – Hairy-style sceptre * '' Paranomus bolusii'' (Gand.) Levyns – Overberg or Viking sceptre * '' Paranomus bracteolaris'' Salisb. ex Knight – Smooth-leaf tree sceptre * '' Paranomus candicans'' Kuntze – Powder sceptre * '' Paranomus capitatus'' Kuntze – Fine-leaf sceptre * '' Paranomus centaureoides'' Levyns – Ladismith sceptre * '' Paranomus dispersus'' Levyns – Long-head sceptre * '' Paranomus dregei'' Kuntze – Scented sceptre * '' Paranomus esterhuyseniae'' Levyns – Kouga sceptre * '' Paranomus lagopus'' Salisb. – Rabbit-paw sceptre * '' Paranomus longicaulis'' Salisb. ex Knight – Woolly sceptre or exploding baked apple * '' Paranomus reflexus'' N.E. Br. – Van Staden's sceptre * '' Paranomus roodebergensis'' (Compton) Levyns – Honey-scented sceptre * '' Paranomus sceptrum-gustavianus'' Hyl. – King Gustav's sceptre * '' Paranomus spathulatus'' Kuntze – Langeberg sceptre * '' Paranomus spicatus'' Kuntze – Kogelberg sceptre * '' Paranomus tomentosus'' N.E. Br. – Hairy-leaf sceptre

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9055467 Proteaceae genera Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces