''Protea pendula'', also known as the nodding sugarbush or arid sugarbush, is a flowering plant of 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 ...

'', in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

, which is only found growing in the wild in the Cape Region 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 ...

. In the

Afrikaans language Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch dialects, Dutch vernacular of Holland, Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German set ...

it is known as ''knikkopsuikerbossie'' or ''ondersteboknopprotea''.

Taxonomy

''Protea pendula'' was first described by Robert Brown in his 1810 treatise ''

On the Proteaceae of Jussieu ''On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae'', also published as "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu", was a paper written by Robert Brown on the taxonomy of the plant family Proteaceae. It was read to the Linnean Society of London in the first q ...

''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

is an ''exsiccata'' collection made by

Francis Masson Francis Masson (August 1741 – 23 December 1805) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist and gardener, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Kew Gardens’ first Botanical expedition, plant hunter. Life Masson was born in Aberdeen. In the 1760s, he ...

in the early 1770s in an unspecified location in South Africa. There is an isotype in the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

assembled by William Forsyth, which is now held at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. The species was collected again in 1831 by

Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher (2 August 1799 Dillenburg, Hessen, Germany – 13 December 1858 Cape Town), was a botanical and insect collector who collected extensively in South Africa. He was the author, with Christian Friedrich Ecklon, of ''Enumer ...

(accompanied by

Christian Friedrich Ecklon Christian Friedrich Ecklon (17 December 1795 – 1 December 1868) was a Denmark, Danish botany, botanical collector and apothecary. Ecklon is especially known for being an avid collector and researcher of plants in South Africa. Biography Ecklon ...

) in the

Witzenberg Mountains Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946. Geography The municipality covers an area of which include ...

to the east of the town of

Tulbagh Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three sides ...

Description

This plant grows as an erect

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

up to three metres tall. The younger branches are softly

hirsute Hirsutism is excessive body hair on parts of the body where hair is normally absent or minimal. The word is from early 17th century: from Latin ''hirsutus'' meaning "hairy". It usually refers to a "male" pattern of hair growth in a female that ...

, eventually becoming

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

with age. The leaves are

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

, distinctly veined beneath, in length, and approximately 0.5 cm in width. They are shaped narrowly-

oblanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, ending in an acute apex with a

mucronate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

tip. Young leaves are covered in a very minute, loose pubescence, but become glabrous as they get older. The flowers are bourne on a specialised

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

, a

flower head A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

pseudanthium A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

. The flower head is

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, in length, and around in diameter. The flower heads are dropping, opening downwards. It 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 occurring in each flower. The

s are produced in the late autumn to winter, mostly in May to June, extending to August. There are seven to eight series of

involucral bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. The outer bracts are often coloured a dull, mealy red, are shaped ovate to sub

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

(somewhat pointy), with an obtuse apex, and covered in silky-pubescent or tomentose hairs on their lower halves. Their margins are membranous and ciliate (fringed with hairs). The inner bracts longer than the actual flowers and are shaped obtuse, in-curved at their tops, slightly concave and covered in minute pubescent hairs on their outsides. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s of the flowers are fused into a 19mm long

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

-sheath. This sheath is dilated, having three keels and three veins at its base, and reddish,

pilose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

hairs on the outside of the very top of the sheath, where it has a 5mm long lip with the underside covered in a few, stiff, setose (bristly) hairs of a reddish colour. The lip is three-toothed, with each tooth almost equal in length, 0.7mm. All of the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are fertile. The

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s are linear and 2.6mm long. The apical glands are ovate and somewhat less than 0.3mm in length. The

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

is oblong and covered in long, reddish-brown hairs. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is glabrous, compressed, curved to

falcate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

in shape and some 21.2mm long. It is obliquely dilated above the ovary, then gradually tapering. The stigma is 3.2mm long, thread-like in shape, obtuse, and almost imperceptibly becomes the style.

Similar species

It is similar to ''

Protea effusa ''Protea effusa'', sometimes known as the scarlet sugarbush, is a flowering plant which belongs to the genus ''Protea''. The plant is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa. In the Afrikaans language the vernacular name ''blosrooisu ...

'', as well as ''P. sulphurea'', from which it differs by having narrower leaves with more distinct

venation Venation may refer to: * Venation (botany), the arrangement of veins in leaves * Wing venation, the arrangement of veins in insect wings See also * * Vernation Vernation (from ''vernal'' meaning ''spring'', since that is when leaves spring forth ...

. It is also somewhat similar to ''P. witzenbergiana'', differing in that species having long, foliaceous, leaf-like, outer involucral bracts.

Distribution

''Protea pendula'' 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 ...

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. It occurs in isolated, scattered populations from the

Cedarberg Mountains The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree end ...

, such as on the Wolfberg, to 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 ...

, such as on the Waboomsberg.

Ecology

The adult plants are killed by

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s, but the seeds can survive such an event. The flowers are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

by birds. The fruits are numerous, studding the base of the dried, old flower head, which itself remains attached to the plant after

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

. The seeds are retained in the fruits for a few years, until they are eventually dispersed by the wind.

Habitat

It exclusively grows in a

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 ...

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, in a range of between 1,000 and 2,000 metres in altitude. Within such lands it grows in arid, rocky areas, and on krantzes (crags or cliffs).

Gallery

File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10814904a.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' bush File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874384b.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874494b.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874494d.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10814904b.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' leaves File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874384d.jpg, Flower of ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874384a.jpg, Flower of ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874384c.jpg, Flower of ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10874494c.jpg, Flower of ''Protea pendula'' File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10814904d.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' flower File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10814904e.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' flower File:Protea pendula tonyrebelo inat10814904c.jpg, ''Protea pendula'' seedhead

Conservation

The rate of change in population is believed to be stable. The conservation status this species was first assessed as '

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

' by the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs ( ...

(SANBI) in 2009. In 2019 another group of authors re-assessed it for SANBI as 'least concern' again.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q18081664 pendula Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces