Protea rubropilosa
The red-haired developing inflorescence of Protea rubropilosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Protea
Species:
P. rubropilosa
Binomial name
Protea rubropilosa

Protea rubropilosa, also known as the Transvaal sugarbush,[3][4][5] escarpment sugarbush[3] or Transvaal mountain sugarbush,[3] is a flowering tree,[5][6] that belongs to the genus Protea in the family Proteaceae.[3][4][7] The plant only occurs in South Africa.[3][7]

Other vernacular names which have been recorded for this tree are platorand-suikerbos and Transvaalse berg-suikerbos in the Afrikaans language, and segwapi in Northern Sotho.[3]

Taxonomy

Protea rubropilosa was described as new to science by the British forester John Stanley Beard in 1958.[2] It had been discovered just earlier that same year by one S. Thompson on the Wolkberg. An isotype is kept at the herbarium at Kew.[8]

Description

The tree becomes 8 m (26 ft) high and is brushy, spreading out its canopy. The trunk is twisted and the bark gnarled.[5] It blooms in spring,[4] from September to December, with the peak in October.[5] The outside of the bracts are very hairy and coloured reddish-brown.[4] The inside of the bracts are bright red.[5] The florets turn from whitish to bright red.[4] The plant is monoecious, both sexes occur in each flower.[5]

Distribution

Protea rubropilosa is endemic to a section of the slopes of the Great Escarpment in northeastern South Africa, where it occurs in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.[3][5][7] It is distributed from the Wolkberg to Lydenburg.[5] It occurs along the Blyderivier.[4]

Ecology

Pollination occurs through the action of birds. The seed is released nine to twelve months after flowering. The seed is dispersed by means of the wind. The seeds simply lie on the ground until they are able to germinate, as opposed to being stored in the infructescence. The wildfires which periodically move through the land in which the tree grows destroy the adult plants, but the seeds can survive such an event. The plant grows on south-facing slopes, in sandstone and quartzite-derived soils, at altitudes of 1,400 to 2,300 metres.[5] It occurs in habitats of montane grassland around the Long Tom Pass, sourveld on mountain summits and cliff-slopes, and the fynbos which can occur in afromontane areas of the Northern Escarpment.[3]

Uses

This plant is grown at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.[4] The tree's national number is 97.[9]

Conservation

It is uncommon,[4] but the species is not threatened and it is locally abundant.[3][5] As of 2019 the total population numbers are believed to be stable. It was first officially assessed as 'rare' in 1980, but in 1996, when the South African National Botanical Institute (SANBI) first assessed this species for the Red data list of southern African plants, the conservation status was changed to 'not threatened'. In 2009 SANBI re-assessed Protea rubropilosa as 'least concern', an assessment which was reiterated in 2019.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Protea rubropilosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T113219257A185582000. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113219257A185582000.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Protea rubropilosa". International Plant Names Index. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (12 June 2019). "Escarpment Sugarbush". Red List of South African Plants. version 2020.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Protea rubropilosa (Transvaal sugarbush)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko - Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Mountain Sugarbushes - Proteas". Protea Atlas Project Website. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Blatchford, Megan (January 2016). "Protea rubropilosa Beard". PlantZAfrica. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 "Protea rubropilosa Beard". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Specimen Details K000423673". Kew Herbarium Catalogue. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "National List Of Indigenous Trees". Treetags. Retrieved 7 July 2020.


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