''Diastella proteoides'', the Flats silkypuff, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the genus ''

Diastella ''Diastella'' is a genus containing seven species of flowering plants, commonly known as “silkypuffs”, in the protea family. The name comes from the Greek ''diastellein'' “to separate”, with reference to the free perianth lobes – the pl ...

'' and forms part of the fynbos. The plant is native to the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and occurs on the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lie ...

from Tokai to

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

and

Eerste River The Eerste River, located in the Western Cape, South Africa, rises on Dwarsberg 60 km east of Cape Town at the head of Jonkershoek. The Eerste River catchment covers the eastern part of the Cape Flats lying to the west of the Hottentots Ho ...

. The shrub is flat and grows only 50 cm high but 3 m in diameter and flowers throughout the year with the peak from July to February. Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. Two months after flowering, the fruit falls off and ants disperse the seeds. They store the seeds in their nests. The plant is unisexual. Pollination takes place through the action of bees. The plant grows in sandy plains at altitudes of 0–150 m.

Gallery

Diastella proteoides 1DS-II 2-6540.jpg Diastella proteoides 1DS-II 2-6542.jpg Diastella proteoides 1DS-II 3-6891.jpg Diastella proteoides 1DS-II 3-6892.jpg Diastella proteoides.jpg Diastellaproteoides.jpg

References

External links

* * * {{Commons category-inline proteoides Flora of South Africa