Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Silky-haired pincushion

(Leucospermum vestitum)

galery
en

Description

Leucospermum vestitum is an evergreen, upright to more or less spreading shrub of up to 2½ m (9 ft) high and wide from the family Proteaceae. It has greyish, seated, oblong, 2–3 inch long leaves with two to four teeth near the tip and large, showy two-toned flower heads that are bright orange at first by and age to brilliant crimson. From the center of the perianth emerge long styles, higher up bending towards the center of the head, that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called silky-haired pincushion in English and bergluisie in Afrikaans. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and flowers from July until January, peaking October and November. Leucospermum vestitum is a stiff, upright to spreading, evergreen shrub of up to 2½ m (9 ft) high and 3 m (10 ft) in diameter, that grows from a single stout stem with a smooth grey bark. The flowering stems are 5–8 mm (0.20-0.32 in) in diameter, stiff upright to horizontally spreading, with a thin covering of powdery hairs. The seated and hairless leaves are oblong, elliptic or narrowly oval, 5–7½ cm (2–3 in) long and 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) wide, cut-off or heart-shaped at the foot the tip pointy or with two to four teeth, arranged alternately and somewhat overlapping.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Proteales
Family:Proteaceae
Genus:Leucospermum
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