''Protea glabra'', also called the Clanwilliam sugarbush, is a flowering shrub belonging to the genus ''

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...

''. Other

vernacular name A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

s for this plant are chestnut sugarbush, Clanwilliam protea or kayang bush. 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 is known as the ''kaiingbos'', ''kaiing-suikerbos'', ''kaiinghout'', ''kayangbos'', ''kreupelwaboom'' or ''tolletjiewaboom''. The tree's national number is 89.1.

Description

The bush grows up to 5m high and has a conical shape. It blooms from July to November. The plant is

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

with both sexes in each flower. Protea glabra 1DS-II 2-2735

Ecology

Pollination occurs through the action of birds and beetles. The seed is not stored in the woody fruit and is spread by the wind as soon as it is ripe. The plant grows in shallow sandstone soils or cracks in rock at altitudes of 500 - 1,500m. It is long-lived and can re-sprout after burning from a bole-shaped rootstock, although it normally grows in areas where there is low risk of wildfires.

Distribution

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

. The plant is found 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 ...

, on the Bokkeveld

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

up to the Olifants River and the

Koue Bokkeveld Mountains The Koue Bokkeveld, meaning "Cold Buck Shrubland" in Afrikaans, is a mountain range in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Geologically the range is composed of Cedarberg Sandstone of the Cape System. Location and extent It is located above ...

. Here, it is a widespread and common species with no severe threats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18081521 glabra Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces