''Spatalla propinqua'', the lax spoon, is a flower-bearing

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 ...

belonging to genus ''

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 ...

'', and forming 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 ...

vegetation. The plant is native 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 ...

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

The shrub grows tall, grows upright and flowers mainly from June to March. Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. The plant is

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and pollinated by insects. The fruit ripens two months after the plant has flowered, and the seeds fall to the ground where they are spread by ants.

Distribution and habitat

The plant occurs from the Slanghoek Mountains to the

Riviersonderend Mountains The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. They ...

. It grows in swampy, cool southern slopes at altitudes of .

References

External links

Threatened Species Programme , SANBI Red List of South African PlantsSpatalla propinqua R.Br. 1810
bl 72 {{Taxonbar, from=Q15584857 propinqua