Macledium spinosum
| Macledium spinosum | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Macledium |
| Species: | M. spinosum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Macledium spinosum (L.) S.Ortíz
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Dicoma spinosa (L.) Druce. | |
Macledium spinosum is a variable species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, that is endemic to the southern Cape regions of South Africa.[1]
Description[edit]
A low, compact, spreading shrub, reaching a maximum of 50 cm in height. The leaves are small (15 x 5mm), spiny, with a grey, velvet leaf-surface.
The wide (20 mm) protea-like flowerheads appear in Spring and Summer, and range in colour from white to purple.[2][3]
Related species[edit]
A closely related species, Macledium relhanioides, occurs in similar areas in the western Little Karoo and Overberg, but tends to be confined to quartzitic outcrops and quartz-fields.
Macledium relhanioides differs by having longer leaves (20 mm) and smaller flowerheads (10 mm) that have prominent pink, spiny bracts (but only rudimentary ray-florets).
Distribution and habitat[edit]
This species can be found from Worcester in the west, eastwards through the Little Karoo and Overberg regions, as far east as Somerset East.
It is most common in clay-rich, shale-derived soils, in Renosterveld and Succulent Karoo vegetation types.
References[edit]
- ^ "Threatened Species Programme | SANBI Red List of South African Plants".
- ^ Ortiz, S. (2001). Reinstatement of the Genus Macledium Cass. (Asteraceae, Mutisieae): Morphological and Phylogenetic Arguments. Taxon, 50(3), 733-744. doi:10.2307/1223704
- ^ "Macledium spinosum".
Further reading[edit]
- KwaZulu-Natal Wild Flowers by Elsa Pooley, p. 446.
- Lawalrée, A. & Mvukiyumwami, J. 1982. Le genre Dicoma Cassini (Asteraceae) en Afrique centrale. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique National de Belgique 52: 151–163.