''Protea roupelliae'' is a species of ''

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 large family

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 ...

, and was named to commemorate Arabella Elizabeth Roupell (1817-1914) who spent two years in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and painted local flowers for her own pleasure. This species is also known as the ''silver sugarbush''.

Description

It is a small tree which grows from three to five metres high on average.

Taxonomy

This species has two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, ''P. roupelliae hamiltonii'' and ''P. roupelliae roupelliae''. ''P. roupelliae hamiltonii'' is a single-stemmed small shrublet which grows up to 0.3 metres tall. ''P. roupelliae roupelliae'', on the other hand, may grow to be a small tree of about 8 metres in height. ''Protea roupelliae'' is placed in the subfamily Proteoideae, which is found mainly in Southern Africa. This subfamily is defined as those species having

cluster root Cluster roots, also known as proteoid roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two- to five-centimetre-thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chem ...

s, solitary

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fe ...

s and indehiscent fruits. Proteoideae is further divided into four tribes: Conospermeae, Petrophileae, Proteae and Leucadendreae. The genus ''Protea'', and hence ''P. roupelliae'', is placed under the tribe Proteae. The Proteaceae comprises about 80

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

with about 1600

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. It has

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

n distribution, which means that it is mainly spread across the Southern Hemisphere, from

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

, across to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, although certain species are also found in equatorial Africa,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, southern Asia and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

as well.

Distribution and habitat

''Protea roupelliae'' is found in eastern

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 ...

, on the quartzite ridges of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, in the

Waterberg Biosphere The Waterberg ( nso, Thaba Meetse) is a mountainous massif of approximately in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is lo ...

and northwards into

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It grows in grasslands and in hilly terrain. The ''hamiltonii'' subspecies is restricted to quartzite soils where clay has been leached at 1300 metres altitude. The ''roupelliae'' subspecies is more adaptable and may grow in a variety of soils at varying altitudes (0-2400m), and is more widespread.

Ecology

This plant, especially ''P. roupelliae roupelliae'', may flower at any time of the year, but most commonly in February and April, just after the summer rains. ''P. roupelliae'' is pollinated by many species such as

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

Gurney's sugarbird Gurney's sugarbird (''Promerops gurneyi'') is a medium-sized passerine endemic to the mid- and high-altitude grassland velds in southern Africa. It belongs to the family Promeropidae, which contains one genus, ''Promerops'', and two species. Gur ...

has a close relationship with the plant.

Cultivation

This plant may be grown in gardens for its beauty and to attract wildlife to the garden.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7251207 roupelliae