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Leucospermum conocarpodendron
Also called Tree Pincushion
A large evergreen shrub or small tree from the Cape, reaching 3 to 6 m, with yellow pincushion-style flowerheads. Its key to success is excellent drainage and full sun, as it is native to well-drained slopes near Cape Town.
Leucospermum conocarpodendron is the largest species of the genus Leucospermum, reaching almost tree-like proportions of 5–6 m (16–20 ft) high with a firm trunk that is covered in a thick layer of cork that protects it from most fires. It has greyish or green narrow or broad inverted egg-shaped leaves with three to ten teeth near the tip and large yellow flowerheads, with firm, bent, yellow styles that stick far beyond the rest of the flower and give the impression of a pincushion. It is commonly known as the tree pincushion in English or goudsboom in Afrikaans. They naturally occur near Cape Town, South Africa.
Two subspecies are distinguished. L. conocarpodendron subsp. conocarpodendron, that has greyish leaves because they have a covering of felty hairs. L. conocarpodendron subsp. viridum, has green leaves that lack felty hairs. Flowers can be found between August and December.
L. conocarpodendron subsp. conocarpodendron is an endemic of the Cape Peninsula where it is limited to the eastern slopes of Devils Peak, the northern and western slopes of Table Mountain and the Black Table, to Llandudno. It grows mainly on heavy clay derived from the weathering of Cape Granite but also weathered Table Mountain Sandstone. It prefers north and west exposures that are well drained.
Redelinghuys Pincushion · Gordon's Bay Pincushion · Arid Pincushion · Catherine's Pincushion · Heart Leaf Pincushion · Red pincushion-protea · Common Pincushion · Oudtshoorn Pincushion · Silver-leaf wheel pincushion · Potberg Pincushion · Soapstone Pincushion · Ember pincushion
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leucospermum conocarpodendron by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
