''Leucadendron burchellii'', the Riviersonderend conebush, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the genus ''

Leucadendron ''Leucadendron'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type. Description Species in the genus ''Leucadendron' ...

'' 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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Description

The shrub grows tall and flowers in August. The plant dies after a fire but the seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a toll on the female plant and fall to the ground after two months. The seed is then spread by ants that carry it to their nests. The plant is

unisexual Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

and there are separate plants with male and female flowers, which are pollinated by small beetles. In Afrikaans, it is known as the .

Distribution and habitat

The plant occurs in the

Riviersonderend Mountains The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. They ...

from Jonaskop to

McGregor McGregor may refer to: People * McGregor (surname) * Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan * McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney Characters * Mr. McGregor, a fictional character from Peter Rabbit Places in Canada: * McGregor Lake ...

. The plant grows on northern slopes in rocky or sandy sandstone soils at altitudes of .

References

Threatened Species Programme , SANBI Red List of South African Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18079146 burchellii