About Aulax cancellata (L.) Druce
Aulax cancellata, commonly called the channel-leaf featherbush, is an upright shrub in the genus Aulax native to South Africa’s Western and Eastern Cape provinces. This widespread shrub occurs across the Cape Peninsula, from the Hottentots-Holland Mountains to the Langeberg, and also grows in the Kouga Mountains, Swartberg, and Kammanassie Mountains. It grows with a single main stem and can reach up to 2.5 meters in height. The plant itself is killed by wildfires, but its seeds survive to regenerate the population after fire events. This species is dioecious: it has separate male and female individual plants, even though the species as a whole produces both male and female flowers. Flowering occurs from November through February. A variety of insect species act as pollinators for this species. After pollination, female flowers dry out and develop into a woody shell that holds and protects the developing seeds. Aulax cancellata grows in sandstone soils at elevations ranging from 0 to 1 200 meters above sea level. In Afrikaans, this species is called Geelveer.
