Protea witzenbergiana, or Swan sugarbush,[3][4][5] is a flowering shrub of the genus Protea.[5]
Taxonomy
Protea witzenbergiana was first described by Edwin Percy Phillips in 1910, from specimens found growing in the Witzenberg range by Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher and William John Burchell.[2][6][7]
Description
The shrub spreads out and can become three metres in diameter and half a metre high.[5] It blooms in Autumn to early Winter, from March to June with the peak in April to May.[4][5]
Distribution
The plant is endemic to the Western Cape, South Africa,[3] and occurs from the Cederberg,[4][5] through the Koue Bokkeveld Mountains[4] and the Witzenberg, to Hex River Mountains and the Bokkerivier Mountains.[5] It is found near the towns of Tulbagh and Ceres.[6]
It is somewhat similar to Protea pityphylla and P. pendula.[6]
Ecology
Potential wildfires destroy the shrub, but the seeds can survive such an event. The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower. It is thought that rodents are probably responsible for pollination. The seeds are spread by the wind. The plant grows on mountainous slopes at altitudes of 750 to 1,800 metres.[5]
Conservation
The population is considered stable.[3]
References
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^ Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Protea witzenbergiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T113221698A185591437. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113221698A185591437.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
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^ a b "Protea witzenbergiana | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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^ a b c Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (14 June 2019). "Swan Sugarbush". Red List of South African Plants. version 2020.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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^ a b c d "Protea witzenbergiana (Swan sugarbush)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko - Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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^ a b c d e f g "Rose Sugarbushes - Proteas". Protea Atlas Project Website. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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^ a b c Phillips, Edwin Percy (1910). "Diagnoses Africanae: XXXVII". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Gardens, Kew (in Latin). 1910 (7): 234. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
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^ Stapf, Otto; Phillips, Edwin Percy (January 1912). "CXVII. Proteaceæ". In Thiselton-Dyer, William Turner (ed.). Flora Capensis; being a systematic description of the plants of the Cape Colony, Caffraria & Port Natal. 5. Vol. 1. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 594, 595. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.821.
