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Afrikaanse Inligting
Leucosperum royenifolium or Leucespermum wittebergense
If only life were
simple. While resolving the Paranomus problems in the Outeniquas we encountered a
population of Eastern Pincushion - Leucospermum royenifolium,
which was even more "aberrant" than usual. Apart from being grey-leaved, rather
than green, the plants were definitely single-stemmed. They were also well over 1m tall.
So these were definitely Swartberg Pincushion - Leucospermum wittebergense,
in the Outeniquas. However, other plants were apparently resprouting, some plants had
green leaves, but were single stemmed, and others were grey-leaved and appeared to be
resprouters. Presumably this is a hybrid population. Of course it might suggest that the
two species are not two, but one.
Please send us your feelings. Remember the features are:
| Feature | Leucospermum royenifolium | Leucospermum wittebergense |
| Habit | multi-stemmed | single stemmed (may branch low) |
| Shape | prostrate mat | rounded shrub |
| Leaf colour | green | grey, hairy |
| Leaf hairs | hairless (mature) silky when young |
short dense silver/grey mat-like |
| Flowerheads | usually clustered | usually few |
So please critically evaluate the plants you see – note that Leucospermum royenifolium is usually up to 0.5m tall and up to over 3m diam., whereas Leucospermum wittebergense tends to be erect. Note young leaves of the former are hairy, and the latter may also produce clusters of many flowerheads. If in doubt please collect a specimen.
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