''Liparia splendens'' (locally called orange nodding-head or mountain dahlia; “Skaamblom” (Shy flower) in Afrikaans) is a flowering

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 ...

shrub of the Fabaceae (legume) family, that occurs in the South-western Cape of

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

Description

In spite of its common name, this plant is in fact unrelated to '' Dahlia'', and is part of the legume family. This multi-branching, re-sprouting, flowering shrub reaches about 1 metre in height. The flowers ("nodding heads") appear from autumn until summer. The flower heads each comprise over 15 individual flowers and are orange-yellow in colour. The flowers resemble those of '' Protea'', as they have adapted to the same pollinator, the sunbird. The plant can survive the frequent fynbos fires as it has a large, strong underground root-stock from which it resprouts. However it can be challenging to grow in cultivation unless its needs are met, which are moderate temperatures and humidity, and well-draining soil.

Distribution

Classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN global Red List, this plant is found in mountain and lowland fynbos in 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 ...

. Here it is found from the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

in the west, as far east as Albertinia and Riversdale.http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/lipariasplend.htm It has two main subspecies, ''splendens'' around the Cape Peninsula, and subsp. ''comantha'' further east.

References

External links

''Liparia splendens'' at PlantZAfrica.com
Podalyrieae Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces ~ Trees of Mediterranean climate Garden plants of Southern Africa Ornamental trees Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman {{Faboideae-stub