Leucospermum rodolentum

Leucospermum rodolentum, the sandveld pincushion or in Afrikaans beesbos (cattle bush) or klipboom (stone tree), is an erect or spreading shrub reaching 3 m in height. The shrubs live for about 20 years. This is one of the pincushions that received a South African Tree List number (No. 83).

Technically evergreen while grey in appearance, the long stems branch low down from a short, stout single stem or trunk with smooth, grey bark, the plant being a reseeder. The branches usually reach down to the ground, obscuring the stem.

The species distribution is in the west of the Western Cape from near the Cape Peninsula to the Namaqualand coastal plain in the southwest of the Northern Cape. A separate population of L. rodolentum grows near Worcester where some dune-like, sandy slopes occur. Photos of the plant presented in this Album were taken in November near the waterside of the Quaggaskloof Dam near Worcester. 

The habitat is sandy flats and lower fynbos slopes. The species is considered vulnerable in habitat early in the twenty first century, due to habitat loss from agriculture and ground water extraction (Manning, 2009; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; Coates Palgrave, 2002; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).