Leucospermum
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of about 50 species of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
, native to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where they occupy a variety of habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
, including scrub, forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, and mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
slopes.
They are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s (rarely small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s) growing to 0.5-5 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spirally arranged, tough and leathery, simple, linear to lanceolate, 2-12 cm long and 0.5-3 cm broad, with a serrated margin or serrated at the leaf apex only. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in dense inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s, which have large numbers of prominent styles, which inspires the name.
The genus is closely related in evolution and appearance to the Australian genus Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
.
Species
- Leucospermum album Bond
- Leucospermum arenarium – Redelinghuis Pincushion
- Leucospermum attenuatum R.Br.
- Leucospermum bolusii E.Phillips – Gordon's Bay Pincushion
- Leucospermum calligerum – Arid Pincushion
- Leucospermum catherinae Compton – Catherine-wheel Pincushion
- Leucospermum conocarpodendronLeucospermum conocarpodendronLeucospermum conocarpodendron is the largest of the Pincushion Proteas . Their natural habitat is the area around Cape Town, in the Western Cape, South Africa....
(L.) H.St.John – Tree Pincushion - Leucospermum conocarpum R.Br.
- Leucospermum cordatum – Heart-leaf Pincushion
- Leucospermum cordifolium (Salisb. ex Knight) Fourc.
- Leucospermum cuneiforme (Burm.) Rourke – Wart-stemmed Pincushion
- Leucospermum erubescens – Oudtshoorn Pincushion
- Leucospermum formosum – Silver-leaf Wheel Pincushion
- Leucospermum gerrardii – Soapstone Pincushion
- Leucospermum glabrum – Outeniqua Pincushion
- Leucospermum gracile – Hermanus Pincushion
- Leucospermum grandiflorum R.Br. – Grey-leaf Fountain Pincushion
- Leucospermum gueinzii – Kloof Fountain Pincushion
- Leucospermum harmatum – Ruitersbos Pincushion
- Leucospermum harpagonatum – McGregor Pincushion
- Leucospermum heterophyllum – Trident Pincushion
- Leucospermum hypophyllocarpodendron (L.) Druce – Snake-stem Pincushion
- Leucospermum innovans – Transkei Pincushion
- Leucospermum lineare R.Br. – Needle-leaf Pincushion
- Leucospermum muirii – Albertinia Pincushion
- Leucospermum mundii – Langeberg Pincushion
- Leucospermum oleifolium – Overberg Pincushion
- Leucospermum parile – Malmesbury Pincushion
- Leucospermum patersonii – Silveredge Pincushion
- Leucospermum pendunculatum – White Trailing Pincushion
- Leucospermum pluridens – Robinson Pincushion
- Leucospermum praecox – Mossel Bay Pincushion
- Leucospermum praemorsum – Nardouw Pincushion
- Leucospermum profugum – Piketberg Pincushion
- Leucospermum prostratum – Yellow Trailing Pincushion
- Leucospermum reflexumLeucospermum reflexumLeucospermum reflexum is a species of pincushion protea found in South Africa. It is a large shrub....
H.Buek ex Meisn. – Rocket Pincushion - Leucospermum rodolentum – Common Sandveld Pincushion
- Leucospermum royenifolium – Eastern Pincushion
- Leucospermum saxatile – Karoo Pincushion
- Leucospermum saxosum – Escarpment Pincushion
- Leucospermum secundifolium – Stalked Pincushion
- Leucospermum spathulatum – Cederberg Pincushion
- Leucospermum tomentosus – Saldanha Pincushion
- Leucospermum tottum R.Br. – Ribbon Pincushion
- Leucospermum truncatulum – Oval-leaf Pincushion
- Leucospermum truncatum H.Buek ex Meisn. – Limestone Pincushion
- Leucospermum utriculosum – Breede River Pincushion
- Leucospermum vestitum (Lam.) Rourke – Silky-haired Pincushion
- Leucospermum winterii – Riversdale Pincushion
- Leucospermum wittebergense – Swartberg Pincushion