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Leucospermum truncatum
Leucospermum truncatum is a rounded, well-branched shrub up to about 2 m tall from the South African fynbos, with yellow-to-orange pincushion flowers. Grow it in full sun with excellent drainage, and note it is a species of the Protea family, not a genus-wide description.
Leucospermum truncatum, commonly known as the limestone pincushion, is a shrub native to South Africa. The flowers are initially bright yellow but turn orange with time. Flowers can be found between August and December.
Leucospermum truncatum grows in fynbos on the limestone ridge close to the coast from sea level to 240 m (790 ft) elevation, between Soetanysberg in the west, across the Bredasdorp district, to Vermaaklikheid. It can only be found on deposits of the Alexandria Formation. The roots of the plants often penetrate crevices in pure limestone outcrops. The species forms open thickets with Protea obtusifolia, Leucadendron meridianum and Leucadendron muirii. The average rainfall in the range of the limestone pincushion is about 40–50 cm (16–20 in) per year, most of which falls during the winter. The flowerheads are primarily pollinated by birds. The seeds are released from the fruit about two months after flowering and are collected by ants that store them underground (a seed dispersal strategy that is called myrmecochory). These plants rarely survive the fires that naturally occur every decade or two in the fynbos. When afterwards the rain carries specific chemicals that are created by the fire underground, the seeds germinate and the species is so "resurrected".
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 truncatum 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.
