Distribution and habitat
The species occur mainly in mountainous areas of the Western Cape, Western and Eastern Cape provinces from the Cederberg to Uitenhage, with the highest numbers found in the districts of Caledon, Western Cape, Caledon, Worcester, Western Cape, Worcester and Swellendam. They are often associated with fynbos habitats.Etymology
The genus was named by English botany, botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury from its unusual leaves, from the Ancient Greek, Greek ''para'' ("illegal" or "contrary"), and ''nomos'' ("custom" or "law"). It was subsequently renamed ''Nivenia'' by rival botanist Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown to honour plant collector James Niven, but Salisbury's name has Correct name (botany), priority. They are commonly known as “sceptres” or “sceptre plants” for the shape of their inflorescences and after the first of the genus to be described, ''P. sceptrum-gustavianus'' – “King Gustav's sceptre”, in 1777.Description
All species are shrubs, though some can grow quite large; for example ''P. tomentosus'' may become, at up to high, a small tree. Like the closely related serrurias they have divided leaves, though a distinctive feature of the genus is that individual plants of some species can bear both normal leaves and ones that are only minimally or even undivided. Other strange features of the leaves are that they do not have distinct upper and lower surfaces and their venation is primitive. The flowerheads are spike-like inflorescences in which the flowers are grouped into fours, with each group of four carried beneath a leathery bract. The shell-like bracts remain on the plant for a year or longer, well after the seeds have dropped off. The plants are not serotiny, serotinous. They do not resprout after fires but regenerate from seeds which are shed soon after flowering.Species
Described species include: * ''Paranomus abrotanifolius'' Salisb. ex Knight – Bredasdorp sceptre * ''Paranomus adiantifolius'' Salisb. ex Knight – Hairy-style sceptre * ''Paranomus bolusii'' (Gand.) Levyns – Overberg or Viking sceptre * ''Paranomus bracteolaris'' Salisb. ex Knight – Smooth-leaf tree sceptre * ''Paranomus candicans'' Kuntze – Powder sceptre * ''Paranomus capitatus'' Kuntze – Fine-leaf sceptre * ''Paranomus centaureoides'' Levyns – Ladismith sceptre * ''Paranomus dispersus'' Levyns – Long-head sceptre * ''Paranomus dregei'' Kuntze – Scented sceptre * ''Paranomus esterhuyseniae'' Levyns – Kouga sceptre * ''Paranomus lagopus'' Salisb. – Rabbit-paw sceptre * ''Paranomus longicaulis'' Salisb. ex Knight – Woolly sceptre or exploding baked apple * ''Paranomus reflexus'' N.E. Br. – Van Staden's sceptre * ''Paranomus roodebergensis'' (Compton) Levyns – Honey-scented sceptre * ''Paranomus sceptrum-gustavianus'' Hyl. – King Gustav's sceptre * ''Paranomus spathulatus'' Kuntze – Langeberg sceptre * ''Paranomus spicatus'' Kuntze – Kogelberg sceptre * ''Paranomus tomentosus'' N.E. Br. – Hairy-leaf sceptreReferences
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9055467 Paranomus, Proteaceae genera Flora of the Cape Provinces