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Leucospermum vestitum
Also called Silky Hair Pincushion, Elliptic Leucadendrum, Meteor Pincushion, Notched Pincushion, Silkyhair Pincushion, Upright Pincushion
Leucospermum vestitum is an evergreen, upright to more or less spreading shrub of up to 2½ m (9 ft) high and wide from the family Proteaceae. It has greyish, seated, oblong, 2–3 inch long leaves with two to four teeth near the tip and large, showy two-toned flower heads that are bright orange at first by and age to brilliant crimson. From the center of the perianth emerge long styles, higher up bending towards the center of the head, that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called silky-haired pincushion in English and bergluisie in Afrikaans. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and flowers from July until January, peaking October and November.
The silky-haired pincushion can be found between Heerenlogementberg (halfway between Klawer and Graafwater) in the north, through the Clanwilliam, Ceres, Piketberg and Tulbagh districts to the Breede River Valley, several kilometers north of Worcester in the south. It was collected on three occasions on the Cape Peninsula (Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Green Point) but since 1886 it seems to have disappeared. It also went extinct on the Paarl mountain, close to Paarl. The silky-haired pincushion seems to agree with a range of ecological circumstances, apart from a well-drained rocky slope of Table Mountain Sandstone. It grows at an altitude of 70–1400 m (200–4000 ft), where it mostly appears on slopes facing north or west. It is very tolerant of drought, which frequently occurs in the arid type of fynbos where it grows, with average annual precipitation as low as 250 mm (10 in). In the Tulbagh valley, plants will mostly have a stiff upright habit while in northerly populations the shrub are rather more sprawling.
L. vestitum is one of several species of Leucospermum that are used as cut flower, in particular because it combines showy flowers heads with long straight stems. It is used as a parent for creating Leucospermum hybrids fit for both the garden and the cut-flower market.
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 vestitum 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.
