Leucadendron stellare (Sims) Steud.

Common Name and Classification

Leucadendron stellare, commonly called the star conebush, is a flowering shrub in the genus Leucadendron. It is a component of the fynbos biome.

Native Range

This plant is native to the Western Cape province of South Africa, where it grows in an area ranging from the Cape Flats to the Berg River Valley, and on the plains at Aurora.

Size and Flowering Period

The shrub reaches a height of 2 meters, and it flowers between September and October each year.

Fire Response

It can re-sprout from its base after a fire occurs.

Seed Characteristics

Its seeds are retained in a cone on the female plant, and they fall out of the cone to the ground two months after flowering.

Reproductive System

L. stellare is a unisexual species, with individual plants producing either all male or all female flowers.

Pollination

Its flowers are pollinated by insects.

Habitat Preferences

It grows primarily on flat terrain, in dry sand that overlies clay soil, at elevations between 30 and 170 meters.

Afrikaans Common Name

In Afrikaans, this species is called Stertolbos.