Protea caespitosa

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Protea caespitosa
Protea caespitosa 29472064.jpg
Protea caespitosa 15934679.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Protea
Species:
P. caespitosa
Binomial name
Protea caespitosa
Synonyms [3] [4] [5]
  • Erodendrum turbiniflorum Salisb.
  • Erodendrum caespitosum Salisb. ex. Knight
  • Protea turbiniflora(Salisb.) R.Br.
  • Scolymocephalus turbiniflorus(Salisb.) Kuntze
  • Protea oleracea L.Guthrie

Protea caespitosa, also known as hottentot bishop sugarbush [6] or bishop sugarbush, [3] [7] [8] is a flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea which is only found growing in the wild in South Africa. [3] [8]

Contents

Other vernacular names which have been recorded for Protea caespitosa are dual-leaf protea and turfy erodendrum, [6] or, in the Afrikaans language, biskopsuikerbos.[ citation needed ]

Taxonomy

In his 1810 treatise On the Proteaceae of Jussieu , Robert Brown classified this species as Protea turbiniflora, thereby renaming the Erodendrum turbiniflorum first described by Richard Anthony Salisbury in The Paradisus Londinensis , and incorrectly sinking into synonymy the previously named Protea caespitosa, which had been described by Henry Cranke Andrews a few years before. [2] [4]

The South African botanist Louise Guthrie described P. oleracea in 1925 during her work at the Bolus Herbarium. [5] [9] The International Plant Names Index incorrectly attributes all of her species descriptions to her father, Francis Guthrie, who died 26 years before the publication of this name. [10]

Description

It is a rounded shrub which can grow up 70 to 100 centimeters (28 to 39 inches) in height, [6] [8] but individuals are usually found as much shorter plants which form cushions of up to 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) high. [6] [7] The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower. [8]

The leaves are somewhat variable: some populations have plants with more lanceolate leaves, [8] but there is also a form with very broad leaves. [7]

Seedlings have been confused with Protea acaulos in the field, but when the plant is flowering or fruiting, the brown-coloured leaves around the base of the inflorescence are unique. [6]

Distribution

The plant is endemic to the southwest of the Western Cape, South Africa. [3] It occurs at high altitudes in the Cape Fold mountain ranges, from the Slanghoek and Du Toit Mountains, [3] through the Hottentots Holland, [8] to the mountain ranges of Kogelberg and western Riviersonderend. [3] [7] [8] Protea caespitosa has a restricted range. Different subpopulations can fluctuate in abundance due to the action of wildfires. [3]

Ecology

Mature individuals are killed by wildfires, and only the seeds survive. [3] [8]

The plant flowers in from mid-winter to the start of summer, from July to November. [8] It can flower at two years old. [6] There is only a single record of a pollinator, a mammal (rodent), [6] [8] although it may also be pollinated by birds. [3] [8] The seeds are retained in the persistent, dry-fruited, fire-resistant inflorescences for a few years, [3] [8] and are released after fires. [3] The seeds are eventually dispersed by means of the wind. [3] [8]

The habitat in which it can be found is typically on the summits of mountains in a substrate of Cederberg shale, [8] and here it appears to prefer growing in deeper soils. It is also often found growing in sandstone regions. [6] It often occurs in dense stands. [8] It grows at altitudes of 820 to 1,500 meters (2,690 to 4,920 feet), although most records are from some 1,400 to 1,720 meters (4,590 to 5,640 ft). [6]

Conservation

Although it was considered 'not threatened' in the past (following Hilton-Taylor (1996)), [3] [8] and dense stands exist, [8] the South African National Biodiversity Institute classed it as 'vulnerable' in 2019. [3]

There are no severe threats. [3] It can be considered well-conserved: as of 2008, 96% of the population is protected in nature reserves, [6] for example in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve in the Western Cape. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Protea neriifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea neriifolia, also known as the narrow-leaf sugarbush, oleander-leaved sugarbush, blue sugarbush, or the oleanderleaf protea, is a flowering plant in the genus Protea, which is endemic to South Africa.

<i>Protea laurifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea laurifolia, also known as the grey-leaf sugarbush, is a shrub from South Africa. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.

<i>Protea acaulos</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea acaulos, also known as the common ground sugarbush, is a flowering plant found in the southwestern Cape Region, South Africa. It is also simply known as ground protea; in the Afrikaans language it is known as an aardroos.

<i>Protea magnifica</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea magnifica, commonly known as the queen protea, is a shrub, which belongs to the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, and which is native to South Africa.

<i>Protea pendula</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea pendula, also known as the nodding sugarbush or arid sugarbush, is a flowering plant of the genus Protea, in the family Proteaceae, which is only found growing in the wild in the Cape Region of South Africa. In the Afrikaans language it is known as knikkopsuikerbossie or ondersteboknopprotea.

<i>Protea vogtsiae</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea vogtsiae, also known as the Kouga sugarbush, is a small flowering shrub of the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, which is only found growing in the wild in the southern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea rubropilosa</i> Flowering tree

Protea rubropilosa, also known as the Transvaal sugarbush, escarpment sugarbush or Transvaal mountain sugarbush, is a flowering tree, that belongs to the genus Protea in the family Proteaceae. The plant only occurs in South Africa.

<i>Protea burchellii</i> Species of flowering plant

Protea burchellii, also known as Burchell's sugarbush, is a flowering shrub in the genus Protea, which is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea susannae</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea susannae, also known as stink-leaf sugarbush, is a flower-bearing shrub of the genus Protea. The plant is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea speciosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea speciosa, also known as the brown-beard sugarbush, is a flowering shrub which is classified as within the genus Protea.

<i>Protea angustata</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea angustata, also known as the Kleinmond sugarbush, is a flowering shrub that belongs to the genus Protea. This plant is endemic to the south-west Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea witzenbergiana</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea witzenbergiana, or Swan sugarbush, is a flowering shrub of the genus Protea.

<i>Protea lorea</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea lorea, also known as the thong-leaf sugarbush, is a flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea.

<i>Protea canaliculata</i> Species of shrub

Protea canaliculata, also known as the groove-leaf sugarbush, is a species of flowering shrub of the genus Protea, which is endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.

<i>Protea lorifolia</i> Species of shrub

Protea lorifolia, in English called the strap-leaved sugarbush, strap-leaved protea or strap-leaf sugarbush is a flowering shrub which belongs to the genus Protea.

<i>Protea laevis</i> Species of shrub

Protea laevis, also known as the smooth-leaf sugarbush, is a flowering shrub that belongs within the genus Protea.

<i>Protea revoluta</i> Species of flowering plant

Protea revoluta, also known as the roll-leaved sugarbush or rolled-leaf sugarbush, is a species of plant which is classified in the genus Protea. P. revoluta is only found growing in the wild in South Africa, where plants can be found growing between the Cederberg inland on the Atlantic coast and the Witteberg area to the north.

<i>Protea scabriuscula</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea scabriuscula, also known as the hoary sugarbush or gray sugarbush, is a flowering shrub, endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

Protea punctata, also known as the water sugarbush or water white sugarbush, is a shrub belonging to the genus Protea which is found growing in the wild in South Africa.

<i>Protea decurrens</i> South African shrub

Protea decurrens, also known as linear-leaf sugarbush, is a shrub of the genus Protea, in the Proteaceae family, which is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa. It is a small shrub with a thick underground rootstock, this structure throwing up numerous leafy branches, upon the base of which clusters of flower heads may appear close to the ground. It is pollinated by rodents and grows in low-altitude fynbos or renosterveld.

References

  1. ↑ Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Protea caespitosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T113208764A185540329. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113208764A185540329.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Protea caespitosa". International Plant Names Index . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (27 September 2019). "Bishop Sugarbush". Red List of South African Plants. version 2020.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute . Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Robert (1810). "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 10 (1): 93–94. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1810.tb00013.x . Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Protea caespitosa Andrews". Plants of the World Online . Kew Science. 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tony Rebelo (25 January 2008). Protea Atlas (PDF) (Report). South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town. p. 75-76. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Protea caespitosa (Bishop sugarbush)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko - Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Bishop Sugarbushes - Proteas". Protea Atlas Project Website. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Protea oleracea". International Plant Names Index . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Annals of the Bolus Herbarium. London". International Plant Names Index . The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 9 August 2020.



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