| Protea comptonii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Protea comptonii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Protea |
| Species: | P. comptonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Protea comptonii | |
Protea comptonii, also known as saddleback sugarbush, [2] [1] [4] [5] [6] is a smallish tree [5] [6] of the genus Protea in the family Proteaceae. [2] [4] It is found in South Africa and Eswatini. [2] [7]
Other vernacular names which have been recorded to be used for this species in South Africa are Barberton Mountain sugarbush and Barberton sugarbush. [2] [1] A name recorded in Eswatini is mountain protea. [8] In the Afrikaans language the names Barberton-suikerbos, [2] [6] Barbertonse bergsuikerbos or Compton-se-suikerbos are used. [2] In the siSwati language the name sicalabane has been recorded [7] [8] -this name is used for a great many other of the larger proteas. [8] Another name used for the tree in this language is sidlungu, [7] [8] although that means 'protea' in general. [8]
Protea comptonii was first described as a new species by John Stanley Beard in 1958. [3]
Protea comptonii was classified in Protea section Patentiflorae by Tony Rebelo in 1995, what he calls the "mountain sugarbushes", along with P. angolensis, P. curvata, P. laetans, P. madiensis and P. rubropilosa. The validity of this group is suspect. [5]
The specific epithet is an eponym commemorating the South African botanist Robert Harold Compton,[ citation needed ] who (among other pursuits) spent much of his career working on the flora of Eswatini. [9]
This plant is a smallish tree, 4–8 metres (13–26 ft) tall, with a rounded, open crown and a trunk up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. The thick, corky bark is coloured grey, it forms a layer up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) thick. [5] It is a long-lived species with a generation length of 50 to 100 years. [2]
The inflorescences are specialised structures called pseudanthia, also known simply as flower heads, containing hundred of reduced flowers, called florets. The flower heads are surrounded by 'involucral bracts'; these bracts are cream-coloured and glabrous. Together with Protea curvata and P. rubropilosa this species has a large receptacle at the base of the flower head which has a dome-shape – this is thought to be a more basal evolutionary characteristic. The style is 65 to 80mm in length. [5]
In South Africa this plant occurs in two disjunct populations in the provinces of Mpumalanga (eastern) and KwaZulu-Natal (northern). [2] [1] [10] The KwaZulu-Natal range is restricted to the hills around the town of Vryheid and the Ithala Game Reserve [2] [1] in the eNgotshe region around the town of Louwsburg, [1] but as of 2019 it has become extirpated from the Vryheid hills. [2] The Mpumalanga population spills over into Eswatini, where the tree grows only in the far northwest -this population is found in the hills south of the town of Barberton [1] [2] [7] and southeast from Kaapsehoop, [1] an old gold rush town -an ancient land with very special ultramafic soil. Protea curvata also occurs here.[ citation needed ]
In Eswatini this tree is only found near the town of Bulembu (2001) [11] [12] and in the Malolotja National Park. [7] [11] [12]
The present spatial distribution of the species is fragmented into smaller subpopulations, most of these are very small, but historically it was much more common and formed large groves on grassland in the Barberton mountains. The remaining habitat is largely grassland fragments between timber plantations. [2] Where it does still occur it is often the dominant plant, forming almost pure stands. [1]
This species is found growing in a limited number of specific habitats: montane grassland around Barberton, and in KwaZulu-Natal it occurs in either sourveld or grassland in the Zululand mistbelt, on quartzite-derived substrates. [2] It is found on steep, south-facing slopes among quartzite outcrops, [2] [1] at altitudes of 700 to 1,800 metres. [2]
The tree blooms in the winter in the Barberton mountains. [4] Pollination is achieved by means of visits by nectar-feeding birds. Its aerial stems can survive the wildfires which periodically pass through its habitat and re-sprout. [2]
Its seeds are not stored on the plant as are those of many other proteas, and are released from the infructescence immediately after ripening. The seeds are dispersed by action of the wind. [2] Recruitment appears to occur at a low rate. [1]
Cattle do not feed on the leaves of this tree, or at least leave it alone in the veld, but it is consumed by wild antelope. [2]
There are no recorded uses known in Eswatini. [8] According to the IUCN the bark is used in traditional medicine by locals. [1]
It is the only Protea species protected in South Africa under the National Forests Act of 1998. Pursuant to this law, plants may not be disturbed, damaged or destroyed in any way, nor may their products be possessed, collected, transported, purchased or sold, except under licence granted by the relevant delegated provincial authority. [6]
In Eswatini, the species is legally protected under the Flora Protection Act of 2000, being classified as an 'endangered' species in the 2002 Southern African Plant Red Data List by the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network, it was afforded 'Schedule A' protection. [13]
It was formerly common in the Barberton Mountains. [2] In 1998 the IUCN believed that the total population was somewhat declining in number and range. [1] According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in 2019 the entire world population only consisted of some 3,150 to 6,300 individual plants in the wild, and was still believed to be decreasing. Most of the known different subpopulations consist of fewer than 200 plants. There are an estimated 2000-5000 plants in Mpumalanga, the largest population in Songimvelo has several hundred plants. The Ithala Nature Reserve is thought to contain almost all, if not all, of the plants in KwaZulu-Natal, a total of 1100 mature individuals divided over five to eight small subpopulations of 30-180 plants; the numbers of the plants are monitored here, and there is continuing decline. It is estimated that there are around 200 plants in Swaziland divided over three localities. It is inferred from the extent of habitat loss that the population has been reduced by 23-28% over the past 150 to 300 years. [2]
The conservation status of Protea comptonii was first assessed in the 1980 book Threatened plants of southern Africa as 'rare'. In 1996, the South African National Botanical Institute, later the Biodiversity Institute, rated the status as 'vulnerable' in the Red data list of southern African plants. [2] In 1998, the IUCN assessed the global status of the species for their Red List as 'lower risk/near threatened'. [1] An assessment of 'vulnerable' was given in 1999 by the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service for the population in that province. SANBI re-assessed the species in 2009, downgrading the status to 'near threatened', but in 2019, in a new assessment, it upgraded the status again to 'vulnerable'. [2]
Historically much of its habitat in the mountains around Barberton was destroyed and fragmented in order to plant forests for timber exploitation, and at present, some 26% of the habitat has been irreversibly modified, mainly in this region. However, loss of range to afforestation is no longer occurring. [2] According to the IUCN in 1998, the main threats to the survival of P. comptonii were the harvesting of the bark for herbalism and unsustainable browsing by native herbivores (game). [1] As of 2019, game remains an important problem in Ithala. Although P. comptonii is not directly affected, in Songimvelo overgrazing by livestock is causing the grasslands to degrade and encouraging the spread of invasive plants. The plants which do not occur in protected areas in Mpumalanga grow on land owned by commercial forestry companies or mines, and as 2019 there is some renewed interest in exploiting the mineral wealth of the region, which might constitute a future threat, at least for two subpopulations. [2]
The species is unable to recover from too frequent burning. [1] In Ithala biennial burns are likely to be causing a decline in numbers and ongoing habitat degradation. [2]
In Eswatini, threats identified are competition from invasive plants, too frequent fires and habitat loss due to mining. [2]
Most extant wild individuals of this species are restricted to protected areas, namely Songimvelo Game Reserve (which contains the largest numbers) and Barberton Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga, [2] and in KwaZulu-Natal the Ithala Game Reserve. [2] [1] The population in Eswatini is largely protected within the Malolotja National Park. [7] [11] [12]
The Drakensberg is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – 2,000 to 3,482 metres within the border region of South Africa and Lesotho.
Protea is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes. It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family.
Mpumalanga is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela.
Ithala Game Reserve is situated in 290 km2 of rugged, mountainous thornveld, about 400 km north of Durban, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the youngest game parks in South Africa. The altitude varies from 400 m along the Phongolo River to 1,450 m along the Ngotshe Mountain escarpment. The reserve consequently encompasses a great variation of terrain, from densely vegetated river valleys and lowveld to sourveld, high-lying grassland plateaus, mountain ridges and cliff faces.
Protea caffra, native to South Africa, is a small tree or shrub which occurs in open or wooded grassland, usually on rocky ridges. Its leaves are leathery and hairless. The flower head is solitary or in clusters of 3 or 4 with the involucral bracts a pale red, pink or cream colour. The fruit is a densely hairy nut. The species is highly variable and has several subspecies.
Protea gaguedi is a species of tree which belongs to the genus Protea.
Protea welwitschii is a species of shrub or small tree which belongs to the genus Protea, and which occurs in bushveld and different types of grassland.
Senecio barbertonicus, the Barberton groundsel or succulent bush senecio, is an evergreen succulent shrub of the family Asteraceae and genus Senecio, native to Southern Africa, named after one of its native localities Barberton and is now also being cultivated elsewhere for its drought resistance, clusters of sweetly scented, golden-yellow, tufted flower heads in winter and attractiveness to butterflies, the painted lady butterfly in particular.
Protea curvata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, and it is a protected tree there.
Drimiopsis is a genus of African bulbous perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Sometimes species are placed under the genus Ledebouria.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Nervia wallengrenii, also known as Wallengren's ranger or Wallengren's skipper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in South Africa, Zimbabwe and from Mozambique to Kenya. The habitat consists of grassland and woodland.
Mylothris agathina, the eastern dotted border or common dotted border, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly East Africa and southern Africa. In South Africa its range has spread westwards around the coast in the late 20th century, and it now occurs north of Cape Town to somewhat beyond Saldanha.
Syncolostemon (sagebushes) is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1838. It is native primarily to South Africa, with some species in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, plus one species in India.
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.
Protea dracomontana, the Nyanga protea or the Drakensberg sugarbush, is a flowering plant that belongs within the genus Protea. The plant is found in the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and the escarpment of the Free State, as well as eastern Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe this species is only known from a disjunct subpopulation confined to the summit of Mount Nyangani.
Protea simplex, the dwarf grassveld sugarbush, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging to the genus Protea. It is native to South Africa.
Protea nubigena, commonly known as cloud sugarbush, is a very rare species of a flowering shrub belonging to the Protea genus. It is endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is found in the uKhahlamba Basalt Grassland within the Royal Natal National Park, near Mont-Aux-Sources, at an altitude of about 2,250 metres (7,380 ft) in well-drained, humus-rich soil on shaded slopes.
Protea parvula, also known as the dainty sugarbush, or kleinsuikerbos in Afrikaans, is a small flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea.
Protea subvestita, the waterlily sugarbush, is a flower bearing shrub that belongs to the well-known genus Protea. The plant is native to Lesotho and South Africa and occurs in Mpumalanga on the escarpment of the Wakkerstroom, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and the Klein Swartberg. The shrub is large, erect and grows up to 5 m. It flowers mainly from January to March.
Media related to Protea comptonii at Wikimedia Commons
