''Leucadendron tradouwense'', the Tradouw conebush, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging 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 ...
. 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 ...
, where it occurs in the
Langeberg Range
The Langeberg Range is a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its highest peak is Keeromsberg at 2,075 m that lies 15 km northeast of the town of Worcester. Some of the highest peaks of the range are located just to ...
at the
Tradouws Pass and
Groot Vadersbos. The plant is rare, there are only two known populations.
The shrub grows to 2 m in height and flowers in June. The plant dies in fires but the seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a toll on the female plant and fall out of the toll ground after two months, where they are spread by rodents. The plant is unisexual and there are separate plants with male and female flowers, which are pollinated by small towers. The plant grows mainly on steep, southern slopes in
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
soil at 160–180 m.
In
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
it known as ''Tradouwtolbos''.
References
* http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=794-148
* http://biodiversityexplorer.info/plants/proteaceae/leucadendron_tradouwense.htm
* https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/conebu5.htm
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18076828
tradouwense