Protea lorea

Protea lorea, also known as the thong-leaf sugarbush,[1][3][4] is a flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea.[4]

Protea lorea
Near Threatened (NT) (SANBI)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Protea
Species:
P. lorea
Binomial name
Protea lorea

In Afrikaans it is known as sneeugrondsuikerbos.

Taxonomy

Protea lorea was first described by Robert Brown in his 1810 treatise On the Proteaceae of Jussieu,[2][5] from specimens collected by Francis Masson near the Cape of Good Hope in the early 1770s, and at that time in the herbarium collection of Joseph Banks.[5]

Description

The shrub forms a low mat of one metre in diameter.[4] It blooms in Summer,[3] from January to February,[4] with its large, yellow inflorescences appearing at ground level from small tufts of grass-like leaves.[3] The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower.[4] Pollination probably occurs through the action of birds.[4] The fruits are woody and persistent, which means they are retained on the plant after senescence. The seeds are kept within the dry fruit for a long period, they are released one to two years after the flowers were formed,[4] and are spread through means of the wind.

It is easily mistaken for the reed-like type of plants known as restios, with which it shares its habitat, and thus has often been overlooked in surveys of local flora.[1]

Distribution

Protea lorea is endemic to South Africa, where it is only found in the Western Cape,[1][3] from the Wemmershoek Mountains through the mountains of Kogelberg, Riviersonderend,[4] Langeberg,[1][4] and the Hottentots Holland Mountains of the Helderberg region,[3] to the towns of Ceres[1][4] and Caledon.[4]

Plants are spatially distributed as scattered individuals in localised areas.[4]

Ecology

Protea lorea grows on the grassy lower slopes of mountains,[1][4] in shale or sandstone-derived soils,[1] and at altitudes of 450 to 650 metres.[1][4] It grows in the habitat known as fynbos.[1]

The plant is able to re-sprout again from its underground rhizome after being burnt off in wildfires.[4]

Conservation

It is a rare species,[4] and the status of the population was first assessed to be 'near threatened' in 2009 (assessed again as the same in 2019), although the population numbers are believed to be stable. It has a total area of occupancy of around 82 km², consisting of only twelve known localities. These areas could in the future potentially be threatened by agriculture, afforestation and invasion by alien plants.[1]

gollark: Right now, actually.
gollark: I've used it several times for helpful reasons.
gollark: No, last week.
gollark: A few days back I think?
gollark: Wow, consume an APIARY.

References
  1. Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (14 October 2019). "Thong-leaf Sugarbush". Red List of South African Plants. version 2020.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. "Protea lorea | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  3. "Protea lorea (Thong-leaf sugarbush)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko - Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. "Dwarf-tufted Sugarbushes - Proteas". Protea Atlas Project Website. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  5. Brown, Robert (1810). "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu" (PDF). Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 10 (1): 93. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1810.tb00013.x. Retrieved 19 July 2020.


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