Silveredge pincushion

Description

Leucospermum patersonii is a large evergreen, upright shrub of up to 4 m (13 ft) high that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has large, roundish hairless leaves with three to eight teeths and egg- to globe-shaped, orange flower heads of 8–9 cm (3.2–4.0 in) across. From the center of each flower emerges a long orange style with a thickened tip that is bent to the center of the head, giving the entire head the appearance of a pincushion. It is called silveredge pincushion in English. Flowers can be found between August and December. It is an endemic species limited to the south coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The silveredge pincushion is a large, rounded shrub or sometimes a small tree of up to 4 m (13 ft) high, that has a stout trunk of 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in diameter covered in a thick corky bark. The flowering stems are upright, woody, 8–10 mm (0.32–0.40 in) in diameter, densely covered in short fine cringy hairs and some straight, spreading hairs. The hairless leaves are almost round to rounded rectangular, 5–9 cm (2–3.6 in) long and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) wide, hart-shaped foot or with ears reaching beyond the stem and a rounded tip with three to eight, deep, bony teeth, are set alternately, directed at an upward angle, overlapping, crowded near the branch tips.