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Afrikaanse Inligting
Range Extension for Sawedge Sugarbush - Protea holosericea
Pr holo
has been atlassed from Rabiesberg. This follows Ivor Jardine atlassing them there and an
atlasser pointing out that it should not be there according to John Rourke’s
"The Proteas of southern Africa": "No other groups (other than
Sawedge Peak) are known at present. (1984) … it is notable that P.
magnifica is abundant on the adjacent peaks of Rabiesberg and Sawedge Peak."
However, a fairly hard look around Rabiesberg, to follow up on the query, showed Pr
holosericea to be common, and no Pr magnifica to be present at all. As
John states Pr holosericea is found at about 1200 m on Sawedge Peak. But
on Rabiesberg it extends in a narrow band of less than 100 m – at about
1200 m on the north side; and down to 900 m on the south side. Whereas there are
lots of other proteas below this zone, there are no healthy proteas above the Pr holosericea
belt. Furthermore, many of the higher plants of holosericea have not yet flowered,
whereas in the middle of the belt, there are lots of flowerheads. Could this be the lower
limit of the snow line?
The new data drastically increases the known world population of this species to several thousand plants.
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