Protea roupelliae

Protea roupelliae is a species of Protea in the large family Proteaceae, and was named to commemorate Arabella Elizabeth Roupell (1817-1914) who spent two years in Cape Town and painted local flowers for her own pleasure.

Silver sugarbush
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Protea
Species:
P. roupelliae
Binomial name
Protea roupelliae
Protea roupelliae at Kransberg in the Transvaal Waterberg

Description

It is a small tree which grows from three to five metres high on average.

Taxonomy

This species has two subspecies, P. roupelliae hamiltonii and P. roupelliae roupelliae.[1] P. roupelliae hamiltonii is a single-stemmed small shrublet which grows up to 0.3 metres tall. P. roupelliae roupelliae, on the other hand, may grow to be a small tree of about 8 metres in height.[2]

Protea roupelliae is placed in the subfamily Proteoideae, which is found mainly in Southern Africa. This subfamily is defined as those species having cluster roots, solitary ovules and indehiscent fruits. Proteoideae is further divided into four tribes: Conospermeae, Petrophileae, Proteae and Leucadendreae.[3] The genus Protea, and hence P. roupelliae, is placed under the tribe Proteae.

The Proteaceae comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. It has Gondwanan distribution, which means that it is mainly spread across the Southern Hemisphere, from Southern Africa, across to Australia, to South America, although certain species are also found in equatorial Africa, India, southern Asia and Oceania[4] as well.

Distribution and habitat

Protea roupelliae is found in eastern South Africa, on the quartzite ridges of Johannesburg, in the Waterberg Biosphere and northwards into Zimbabwe. It grows in grasslands and in hilly terrain. The hamiltonii subspecies is restricted to quartzite soils where clay has been leached at 1300 metres altitude.[2] The roupelliae subspecies is more adaptable and may grow in a variety of soils at varying altitudes (0-2400m), and is more widespread.[2]

Ecology

This plant, especially P. roupelliae roupelliae,[2] may flower at any time of the year, but most commonly in February and April, just after the summer rains. P. roupelliae is pollinated by many species such as beetles, bees and sunbirds; Gurney's sugarbird has a close relationship with the plant.[5]

Cultivation

This plant may be grown in gardens for its beauty and to attract wildlife to the garden.

gollark: Anyway, this story has inspired me to update the Server header on osmarks.tk.
gollark: If they just ignore you, I'd consider it reasonable to go public about it eventually, sure.
gollark: That's very government.
gollark: Do I really need to bring out the cognitohazards?
gollark: ÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆ go sleep already

References
  1. "Spoon-bract Sugarbushes". www.proteaatlas.org.za. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-03-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Weston, Peter H.; Barker, Nigel P. (2006). "A new suprageneric classification of the Proteaceae, with an annotated checklist of genera". Telopea. 11 (3): 314–344.
  4. Orchard, Anthony E. (ed.). "Proteaceae". Flora of Australia, Volume 16: Elaeagnaceae, Proteaceae 1. Melbourne: Australian Biological Resources Study / CSIRO Publishing. Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2011-08-12.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  5. Johnson, David & Sally (2008). Wildlife Gardening in Southern Africa. Africa Geographic (Pty) Ltd. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-620-42523-0.
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