About Spatalla setacea (R.Br.) Rourke
Spatalla setacea, commonly known as the needle-leaf spoon, is a flowering shrub in the genus Spatalla that is part of South Africa’s fynbos vegetation. This species is endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, where its distribution spans from Slanghoek to the Hottentots-Hollandberge. It grows as an upright shrub that reaches a maximum height of 1.0 meters, and it blooms from October to December each year. After a fire burns through its habitat, the mature plant dies, but its seeds remain alive to regenerate the population. S. setacea has bisexual flowers, and pollination is carried out by insects. Two months after the plant finishes flowering, its ripe seeds drop to the ground, and ants disperse these seeds to new locations. This species grows in peaty soil on southern-facing slopes, at elevations between 900 and 1250 meters.
