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Leucospermum pedunculatum
A low, mat-forming evergreen shrub from the south coast of South Africa's Western Cape, with globe-shaped white-to-carmine flower heads that look like pincushions. Grow it in full sun in very well-drained, sandy soil that stays dry in summer.
Leucospermum pedunculatum is an evergreen, low shrub of 15–30 cm (5.9–11.8 in) high, spreading from a single stern upright stem, from the family Proteaceae. The powdered or hairless, line-shaped to somewhat sickle-shaped leaves are 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 in) long and 2–5 mm (0.08–0.20 in) wide. The stalked, individually set flower heads are globe-shaped, 2½−3 cm (1.0−1.2 in) in diameter consist of initially white to pale cream flowers that eventually turn carmine. From the center of the flowers emerge straight styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called white-trailing pincushion in English. It flowers from August to January, peaking in September. It is an endemic species that is restricted to a narrow strip on the south coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
L. pedunculatum occurs on the south coast of the Western Cape province in a narrow strip between Cape Agulhas (Springfonteyn) in the southeast and Danger Point (Franskraal) in the west, of at most 6½ km (4 mi) from the sea and 200 m (600 ft) altitude. It mostly grows on white sandy flats of Tertiary or Quaternary origin rimming the limestone ridges parallel to the sea. Although few plants are found on wind-blown sand accumulated between the limestone hills, they never grow on the limestone itself. At higher altitude, the species also grows on weathered Table Mountain Sandstone. The average annual precipitation along its distribution is 375–650 mm (15–25 in), which primarily falls during the winter half year.
Redelinghuys Pincushion · Gordon's Bay Pincushion · Arid Pincushion · Catherine's Pincushion · Grey tree-pincushion · Heart Leaf Pincushion · Red pincushion-protea · Common Pincushion · Oudtshoorn Pincushion · Silver-leaf wheel pincushion · Potberg Pincushion · Soapstone Pincushion
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leucospermum pedunculatum 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.
