''Leucadendron roodii'', the Gifberg conebush, is a flowering shrub that belongs to the genus ''
Leucadendron'' 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 ...
biome. The plant is endemic 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 ...
province of South Africa, where it occurs on the
Gifberg mountain.
The shrub grows to 2m high and flowers from August to September. The plant dies after a fire but the seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a whorl on the female plant and only fall to the ground after a fire. The plant is unisexual and there are separate plants with male and female flowers, which are pollinated by small beetles. The plant grows mainly in sandy soil at altitudes of 260–550m.
References
Sources
REDLIST SanbiProtea AtlasPlants of the World Online
roodi
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