Leucadendron elimense showing male flowerhead

The male flowerhead or pollen cone of Leucadendron elimense has the dense mass of yellow florets to be seen in the photo; clearly of interest to insects lured into pollination duty.

The leaves of the male plants are slightly smaller than those of female shrubs in this species. Leucadendron elimense comprises three subspecies with variation mainly in leaf size and shape (www.plantzafrica.com; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984).