''Thamnochortus insignis'' is a species of grass-like restio of the family

Restionaceae The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 meters in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former famil ...

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 ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

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 ...

Appearance

Plants are tall, grass- or reed-like tussocks with a diameter of 500 mm to 1 metre at the base and a spread of 3 metres or more at the top and up to 2,5 m tall. Male and female plants are separate and very similar when they are not flowering.

Range

''Thamnochortus insignis'' grows in dense stands in the southern Cape around Albertinia. It can now be found along the roadsides from

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

to the Cedarberg, where the seed has been distributed by the trucks carrying the thatching material.PlantZAfrica.com ''Thamnochortus insignis'' (Mast.)
/ref>

Propagation

The plants are wind pollinated with the male inflorescences in small tassels swaying in the wind, while the female flowers are at the base of medium sized bracts, which catch the pollen from the air and funnel it towards the small fringed styles of the female flowers. The seed comes in the form of a tiny nutlet inside the old flower, which by this stage has formed two small wings. This helps the wind to carry the seeds away from the plant. The seeds are produced in very large quantities by each female plant, but are not all viable; a large number of nutlets are empty inside. Why the plants expend all this energy to produce sterile seeds is not clear, but is particular to this genus as well as to the genus '' Elegia''.

In cultivation

This restio is widely cultivated both for its usefulness as a thatching material as its name shows.

Gardens

''Thamnochortus insignis'' is used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

. It is excellent in pots and can be easily established outside in mild districts (in the Northern Hemisphere). It is hardy to -3 °C.

Environmental impact

The popularity of this species and the subsequent cultivation of it has led to the result in the elimination of other plant species in its native area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7710025 Restionaceae Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Fynbos Garden plants of Southern Africa