''Spatalla colorata'', the shiny spoon, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the genus ''

Spatalla ''Spatalla'' is a genus containing 20 species of flowering plants, commonly known as "spoons", in the family Proteaceae. The genus is endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa where it is associated with fynbos habitats. The species a ...

'' 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 from the Riviersonderend Mountains to central Langeberg. The shrub grows upright and grows only 80 cm tall and flowers from July to November. The plant dies after a fire but the seeds survive. The plant is bisexual and pollination takes place through the action of insects. Two months after the plant has flowered, the ripe seeds fall to the ground where they are spread by ants. The plant grows on cool, southern slopes at altitudes of 900 - 1400 m.

References

* http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=805-8 * http://biodiversityexplorer.info/plants/proteaceae/spatalla_colorata.htm * https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/spoon.htm * https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/PROTEA_ATLAS_main_part2.pdf bl. 80 colorata Plants described in 1856 Fynbos {{Proteaceae-stub