Leucadendron diemontianum I.Williams

Shrubs, male plants up to 1.6 m, female plants up to 2.2 m tall, both sexe spindly, tenuous, erect, developing from a single stem a ground level with few branches and with a cluster of branchlets near the base. Branches scattere slender, straight, erect, reddened, glabrous. Basal branchlets spreading wit spreading leaves. Leaves in male plants 2.4 cm long, 3.5 mm broad, in femal plants 3.6 cm long, 6.3 mm broad, in both sexes elliptic-linear, obtuse, mucro blunt, glabrous, thick, coriaceous, adpressed-erect, dark green or purplish, not twisted. Involucral leaves broader than the stem leaves, in male plants 6. mm broad, in female plants 1.03 cm broad, in both sexes lanceolate, concav yellow becoming reddened, not twisted, 7-9 in number. Male inflorescence up to 1.5 cm long, 1.15 cm diam., solitary, terminal, ovoid, giving off a swe yeasty smell, soon dropping off. Basal bracts 3 mm long, 2.3 mm broad, about 8 in number, ovate, obtuse, ciliate, glabrous, becoming brown from above. Floral bracts 1 mm diam., sub-orbicular, obtuse, ciliate above, villous above and at the sides, glabrescent in the middle. Floral bud 5 mm long, glabrous, swolle above, bent below. Perianth tube 1.3 mm long, terete, glabrous. Claw 2.3 m long, recurved 180°, glabrous. Limb 1.8 mm long, spoon shaped, hooke glabrous. Anthers 1.5 mm long, semi-decumbent, devoid of pollen at anthesis connective dusky. Pollen triangular in polar view with sides 32 µ long, pol depth 20(j. Stigma abortive, 1.5 mm long, clavate, entire, acting as a pollen pre senter. Style 3.4 mm long, filiform, glabrous, standing in a few hair Hypogynous scales up to 1 mm long, acicular, pale. Nectar seen above the hypogynous scales in the perianth tube. Receptacle 1.3 cm long, 2 mm diam., narrowly clavate. Female inflorescence 1 cm long, 7.5 mm diam., solitary, terminal, globose, giving off a yeasty smell. Basal bracts 4 mm long, 3.2-4 mm broad, 13-25 cm number, deltoid or sub-orbicular, ciliate, glabrescent. Floral bract 3 mm long, 4.7 mm broad, semi-orbicular, short-ciliate, densely short-pubescent. Floral bud 4 mm long, transversely compressed, laterally sparsely pubescent. Perianth segments imbricated forming a tube 2.5 mm long, laterals pubescent or glabrous. Claw 1.5 mm long, recurved 180°, glabrous or with laterals pubescent. Limb 0.7 mm long, glabrous. Staminodes 0.4 mm long, anterior rudimentary. Ovary 0.7 mm long, glabrous, bilobed above. Style inserted towards the rear, 3.3 mm long, glabrous, stouter above. Stigma 0.4 mm broad, terminal-oblique, cleft. Hypogynous scales 1.3 mm long, stout, tapering, pale. Receptacle 7 mm long, 1.7 mm diam., narrowly clavate. Mature female head indehiscent, concealed within the closely imbricated involucral leaves, 18.3±5 mm long, 15.5± 2 mm diam., ellipsoid, with bracts deeply indented across the middle, thinly pubescent below, glabrescent above. Fruit 6 mm long, 7 mm broad, compressed, winged, emarginate, pitted, dark brown, bent inwards above, with a small tuft of hairs around the basal scar.