About Serruria gremialis Rourke
Serruria gremialis, commonly known as the Riviersonderend spiderhead, is a flowering shrub in the genus Serruria that is part of the fynbos vegetation. This species is endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, where it grows in the Riviersonderend and Stettynkloof mountains. It is predominantly a creeping shrub, with stems that reach up to 1.0 meter in length. It flowers from July to February, and is unisexual, with pollination carried out by insects. It grows on northern-facing slopes in sandstone soil, at elevations between 270 and 760 meters, specifically in Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos habitat. After a fire, new growth sprouts from the plant's underground rootstock, allowing it to survive veldfires. Two months after flowering, the fruit falls off the plant, and native ants disperse the seeds by storing them in their underground nests. The invasive Argentine ant competes with native ants but does not move the seeds underground, which causes seed reserves to decline over time.
