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Leucadendron coniferum
Also called Dune Yellowbush
Leucadendron coniferum, also known at the dune conebush, is an evergreen, dioecious shrub or small tree of up to 4 m (13 ft) high, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has a whorl of conspicuous yellow leaves subtending the flowerheads. The flowers can be found in August and September. It grows in sandy soils near the coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
The dune conebush can be found from the Cape Peninsula in the west, through the coastal areas of the Kogelberg, Kleinmond, and Groenland, to the Klein River Mountains in the east near Hermanus, where it grows in dense stands on wind-blown sands, between sea level and about 300 m (900 ft) altitude. It is pollinated by small beetles. The seeds remain up to many years in the woody cones on the female plants, until these are released after a fire. The winged seeds are transported by the wind. Adult plants do not survive the wildfires that occur every decade or so in the sand fynbos and strandveld in which the dune conebush lives. Germination starts quickly after the seed are released and it has been shown that smoke promotes their germination of the seeds. The species, that naturally grows in acid and nutrient-poor environments is relatively sensitive to raised levels of phosphate.
The cones with their papery bracts, that look like spruce cones and are known as "sabulosum cones", are sometimes gathered and used in potpourri.
Linear-leaf Conebush · Red Edge Conebush · Silver tree · Swartberg Conebush · Gideonskop Conebush · Foetid Conebush · Graafwater Conebush · Foetid Conebush · Riviersonderend Conebush · Witteberg Sunbush · Witsenberg Conebush · Scraggly Conebush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leucadendron coniferum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
