Leucadendron nervosum E.Phillips & Hutch.

Shrubs about 1.5 m tall (3 m in cultivated plants at Kirstenbosch), developing from a single stem at ground level. Branches more or less hidden by the foliage, few in number, erect, straight, new branches thinly clothed with hairs 5 mm long and with a very short pubescence. Leaves of male plants 4.7 cm long, 1.8 cm broad, of female plants 6 cm long, 2 cm brond, in both sexes erect, elliptic, rigidly coriaceous, veined, margins cartilagineous, apex obtuse with a blunt callus, villous towards the base, otherwise glabrous, new leaves clothed with an adpressed silvery indumentum more dense on the adaxial surface. Involucral leaves somewhat similar to the stem leaves, crowded, decreasing towards the head, clothed with long white shaggy hairs; much exceeding the head in the female plant. Male inflorescence 2.4 cm long, 2.2 mm diam., conical, solitary, terminal with conspicuous reddish buds. Basal bracts 2 cm long, 5.5 mm broad, about 61 cm number, lanceolate, acute, pale brown, conspicuous, numerous, midrib pubescent, long-ciliate. Floral bract 1.3 mm long, 0.8 mm broad, ovate, obtuse, ciliate, midrib sparsely pubescent. Floral bud 7 mm long, apex swollen and coloured, sparsely pubescent. Perianth tube 2 mm long, glabrous. Claw 4 mm long, slender, recurved 360°, very sparsely short-pubescent. Limb 1.7 mm long, spathulate, hollow, hooked, coloured, sparsely short-pubescent. Anthers 1.4 mm long, connective brown. Pollen triangular in polar view with sides 50 µ long, polar depth 27µ. Stigma abortive, 1.3 mm long, clavate, entire, acting as a pollen presenter, deflexed when old. Style 6 mm long, filiform, glabrous above, densely pubescent below. Hypogynous scales 2 mm long, acicular, pale. Nectar seen at and above the apices of the hypogynous scales. Receptacle 1.4 cm long, 6 mm diam., acutely conical. Female inflorescence 2.1 cm diam., ovoid, solitary, terminal, almost hidden by the involucral leaves, with florets arranged in 13 spiral rows of 6. Basal bracts about 27 in number, lanceolate, acute, conspicuous, brown, becoming broadened and green below towards the centre, the last ± 9 similar to the floral bracts, surrounded below by long silky white hairs. Floral bracts 8 mm long, 6.5 mm broad, ovate, acute, densely silky-white-pubescent below, shortly adpressed-pubes-cent above. Floral bud 9 mm long, bent, glabrous and swollen below, pubescent above, apex coloured, surrounded below by a dense tuft of long white hairs. Perianth segments imbricated forming a narrow ventricose tube, 9 mm long, sparsely short-pubescent above, glabrous broadened and membranous in the lower two thirds. Claw 1.5 mm long, short-adpressed-pubescent. Limb 1.5 mm long, short-pubescent, coloured. Staminode 1 mm long. Ovary 1.5 mm long, 0. 7 mm diam., densely clothed with white hairs up to 7 mm long. Style 10 mm long, glabrous, slightly thickened at the base. Stigma 0.7 mm broad, sub oblique, with a shallow cleft above. Hypogynous scales 1.5 mm long, acicular, pale. Nectar not seen. Receptacle 1.6 cm long, 6 mm diam., narrowly conical, similar to the male. Mature female head 2.8 cm long, 2.5 cm diam., conical, with bracts small, acute, densely pubescent, adjacent bracts in three spiral rows. Fruit 6 mm long, 3.5 mm broad, less than 2 mm thick, lower two thirds short-pubescent and narrowing to an acute point below, fringed with long hairs, then glabrous and narrowing to an obtuse apex with the style persisting.