Leucadendron muirii E.Phillips

Shrubs up to 2 m, erect and spreading from the base, developing from a single stem below; the male plants dense with many branches, the female plants straggly with ashy grey cones and stout branches. Branches erect, short, straight, stout, glabrous, smooth, purplish, becoming ashen grey when old. Basal branchlets sparsely pubescent. Leaves of male plants up to 3 cm long, 1.3 cm broad, of female plants up to 4 cm long, 1.3 cm broad, in both sexes obovate-spathulate, retuse or obtuse with a reddish immersed apical callus, evenly narrowed to the base, fairly erect, widely spaced, glabrous, coriaceous, veins obscured, thick and fleshy; on basal shoots linear, obtuse, narrowed evenly to the base, very sparsely pubescent. Juvenile leaves acicular, sparsely pubescent. Involucral leaves similar to the stem leaves, few in number, not coloured, inconspicuous. Male inflorescence up to 4 cm long including the peduncle 2 cm long, up to 1.5 cm diam., ellipsoid, solitary or in clusters of one terminal inflorescence surrounded by up to 10 axial inflorescences, greenish-yellow, giving off a yeasty smell. Basal bracts and those along the peduncle acute, dark brown, ciliate, glabrous, about 29 in number. Floral bract 2 mm long, 1 mm broad, lanceolate, ciliate, slightly pubescent. Floral bud 5 mm long, apex glabrous, yellow and not much swollen, crisped-pubescent in the middle, slightly bent below. Perianth tube 2 mm long, short-crisped-pubescent. Claw 2 mm long, recurved 90-180°, short-crisped-pubescent. Limb 1.8 mm long, glabrescent, narrow, concave, hooked. Anthers 1.5 mm long, decumbant. Pollen triangular in polar view with fairly straight sides 30 µ long, polar depth 17 µ. Stigma abortive, 1.2 mm long, clavate, sub-entire/acting as a pollen presenter. Style3.5 mm long, filiform, glabrous, slightly swollen at the base. Hypogynous scales 1.5 mm long, stout, acicular yellowish. Nectar seen at the apices of the scales. Receptacle at first 1.4 cm long, 4 mm diam., clavate, acute, finally becoming larger, obconic and retuse at the apex. Female inflorescence 3 cm long including a stout peduncle about 1.2 cm long, 1.5 cm diam., ellipsoid, greenish, solitary, terminal, giving off a yeasty smell. Basal bracts 5.5-15 mm long, 3 mm broad below, about 30 in number, acute, caudate, ciliate, dark brown, glabrous. Floral bracts 3 mm long, 5.5 mm broad, broadly elliptic, apiculate, glabrous, ciliate, thick at the base. Floral bud 4.7 mm long, compressed, laterally crisped-pubescent. Perianth tube 2.5 mm long, laterally pubescent, divided below. Claw 1.5 mm long, recurved 90°, pubescent. Limb 0.8 mm long, pubescent, anterior flattened. Staminode 0.5 mm long, slightly curled upwards, anterior absent. Ovary 0.8 mm long, ovoid, glabrous. Style 3 mm long, glabrous, broader above. Stigma 0.6 mm broad, oblique. Hypogynous scales 1.5 mm long, broad, tapering, yellowish. Nectar seen filling the perianth tube above the hypogynous scales. Receptacle 2 cm long, 5 mm diam., clavate, acute. Mature female head a cone, indehiscent, 3-4.5 cm long, 3 cm diam., ellipsoid, glabrous, ashy grey, with bracts 1.3 cm long, 1.3 cm broad, narrowing to the base, glabrous, sub-apiculate, connate below. Fruit samaroid, 5-8 mm long, 5-6.5 mm broad, orbicular or ob-cordate, compressed, emarginate, winged, broadened above, ashy grey, mottled.