| Lopholaena festiva | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Lopholaena |
| Species: | L. festiva |
| Binomial name | |
| Lopholaena festiva Brusse | |
Lopholaena festiva, or the shiny fluff-bush, is a species of plant from South Africa.
This shrub grows up to 155 cm (61 in) tall, with a main stem with a diameter of up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). It is covered in rough greyish bark. The secondary branches (which have a diameter of up to 1 cm (0.39 in)) are brown with longitudinal fissures and leaf scars. The tertiary branches are brown with deep longitudinal wrinkles and have jutting out leaf scars. The young branches are black with sooty moulds. [1]
The hairless leaves are alternately arranged on grow directly on the branches. They are light green in colour and are 30–73 mm (1.2–2.9 in) long and 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) wide. The veins, while mostly invisible, curve towards the margins. Sometimes two lateral veins will be visible. [1]
White flowers are borne in terminal corymbs. [1] [2] Each inflorescence is about 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, commonly being made up of seven flowers. They emit a honey-like scent. It starts off cylindrical, but becomes disc shaped, flaring above. They are surrounded by linear bracts that are woolly in the axils. The tops of the anthers are commonly purple and are clearly visible in open flowers. [1]
This plant produces achenes - small, dry fruits that contain a single seed. They are brown with a slight white sheen as a consequence of the sparse hairs. [1]
This plant is most similar to Lopholaena cneorifolia. L. festiva, however, has much wider hairs and fewer hairs on the achenes (which are a silvery white in L. cneorifolia as a result of the hairs). L. festiva also has fewer spinules per intercolpar area (23-28) than L. cneorifolia (36-38) in the pollen. [1]
This plant is endemic to the Limpopo province of South Africa. [3] This mountainous species prefers northern slopes at altitudes of 1,100–1,600 m (3,600–5,200 ft). [1] [2] It is known from the Blouberg, the Soutpansberg, the Strydpoortberg, and the northern parts of the Drakensberg. [1] It is often found growing from cracks in quartzite or sandstone rock faces, fully exposed to the sun in the absence of surrounding vegetation, although it may sometimes be found on wooded slopes. [1] [2]
This species is considered to be of least concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. [3]
Acacia cultriformis, known as the knife-leaf wattle, dogtooth wattle, half-moon wattle or golden-glow wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub of the genus Acacia native to Australia. It is widely cultivated, and has been found to have naturalised in Asia, Africa, North America, New Zealand and South America. A. cultriformis grows to a height of about 4 m (13 ft) and has triangle-shaped phyllodes. The yellow flowers appear from August to November in its natural range. Its attractive foliage and bright flowers make it a popular garden plant.
Hakea scoparia is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia where it grows in shrubland. It is a shrub with ascending branches, terete leaves and clusters of cream to pinkish flowers in leaf axils from June to September.
Lopholaena is a genus of perennial shrubs and herbaceous plants in the family Asteraceae. About 20 species occur from tropical to southern Africa.
Emilia sonchifolia, also known as lilac tasselflower or cupid's shaving brush, is a tropical flowering species of tasselflower in the sunflower family. It is widespread in tropical regions around the world, apparently native to Asia and naturalized in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Mallotus philippensis is a plant in the spurge family. It is known as the kamala tree or red kamala or kumkum tree, due to the fruit covering, which produces a red dye. However, it must be distinguished from kamala meaning "lotus" in many Indian languages, an unrelated plant, flower, and sometimes metonymic spiritual or artistic concept. Mallotus philippensis has many other local names. This kamala often appears in rainforest margins. Or in disturbed areas free from fire, in moderate to high rainfall areas.
Cupaniopsis baileyana is a species of flowering tree in the soapberry family. It is native to eastern Australia. Common names include White Tamarind and Toothed Tuckeroo. The species name honours the botanist F.M.Bailey.
Dendrocnide photiniphylla, the shining-leaved stinging tree, is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It occurs from near the Colo River northwest of Sydney to Cooktown in tropical Queensland. A versatile species, it occurs in many different rainforest types. The specific epithet photiniphylla translates to shining leaf. The generic name translates to stinging tree.
Atalaya multiflora, known as the broad leaved whitewood, is a rare and endangered rainforest tree of the soapberry family native to eastern Australia.
Decaspermum humile, commonly known as the silky myrtle, is a tree from Australia and Asia. It can be used as bush food, as indicated by the alternate common name of currant myrtle. The tree features an attractive dark glossy crown. The new pink leaves with silvery hairs are particularly appealing.
Hazardia berberidis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae commonly known as the barberry-leaf goldenbush. A woody shrub, it is characterized by sawtooth leaves and yellow ray flowers that bloom from March to August. It is endemic to the coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub habitats of Baja California, Mexico, but with populations of uncertain origin in San Diego County, California.
Hakea rigida is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae with a restricted distribution and endemic to the western Goldfields region of Western Australia. It is a dense shrub with grey bark and sprays of pink flowers in spring.
Hakea sulcata, commonly known as furrowed hakea, is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a prickly shrub with grooved, cylindrical leaves, sweetly-scented flowers and relatively small fruit.
Leucospermum oleifolium is an erect shrub of about 1 m (3.3 ft) high and 1½ m (5 ft) across that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has spreading branches, densely set with initially felty, entire, oval, olive-colored leaves of about 3½ cm long and 1½ cm (0.6 in) wide, with a bony tip that sometimes has two to five blunt teeth, with a blunt base and conspicuous veins. The flowers and their long thread-like styles are initially sulfur yellow, but soon become orange and finally turn brilliant crimson. The flower heads are about 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, crowded at the tip of the branches with a maximum of five that start flowering in turn. This provides for a colour spectacle from August till December. It is called by various names in South Africa such as Overberg pincushion, flame pincushion, mix pincushion and tuft pincushion. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Mairia coriacea is a perennial plant assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has broad, tough and leathery, evergreen leaves. These have a narrowed foot and an entire margin or a few shallow, irregular teeth. They grow in a rosette directly from the rootstock. The plant produces flower heads with one whorl of white to mauve ray florets around many yellow disc florets, with one or few on top of a dark reddish, woolly stalk. Flower heads appear after the overhead vegetation burnt down, often destroying the leaves in the process. It can be found in the southern mountains of South Africa's Western Cape province. It is called leather leaves in English.
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.
Euryops ursinoides is a highly endemic and vulnerable species from South Africa. It is in the daisy family.
Anaxeton arborescens, the northern paperposy, is a species of plant from South Africa. It grows in the fynbos biome.
Dimorphotheca dregei, or bietou, is a species of plant from South Africa.
Osteospermum burttianum is a species of plant from South Africa.
Schistostephium griseum is a species of plant from southern Africa.