''Spatalla longifolia'', the pink-stalked spoon, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Spatalla ''Spatalla'' is a genus containing 20 species of flowering plants, commonly known as "spoons", in the family Proteaceae. The genus is endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa where it is associated with fynbos habitats. The species a ...

''. It forms a 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 where it is found in the Hottentots-Holland Mountains; from Franschhoek and Villiersdorp to the Kleinmond Mountains. The shrub grows erect and 1 m tall and flowers from August to November. The plant dies after a fire but the seeds survive. The plant is bisexual and pollination takes place through the action of insects. Two months after the plant has flowered, the ripe seeds fall to the ground where they are spread by ants. The plant grows on rocky slopes in sandstone soil at altitudes of 300 - 915 m.

References

longifolia Fynbos Flora of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-stub