Leucadendron olens I.Williams

Shrubs about 1.2 m tall, erect, with a reddish hue, single stemmed at base. Branches erect, rod-like, thinly adpressed pubescent becoming glabrescent, reddened, leaves persisting. Branchlets clustered, slender, erect, thinly adpressed pubescent, partly hidden by the leaves. Leaves similar in both sexes, 7-11 mm long, 1.2-2 mm broad, linear-lanceolate, acute, mucronate, glabrous, coriaceous, sparsely villous-ciliate at first, alternate, adpressed erect, incurved. Male inflorescence 9 mm long, 8 mm diam., solitary, terminal, globose, yellow, very sweetly scented. Involucral leaves not conspicuous, similar to the stem leaves, about 13 cm number. Basal bracts varying in size, one measured 4.2 mm long, 3.3 mm broad, concave, ovate, ciliate, glabrous. Floral bract 5 mm long, 1.2 mm broad, linear-spathulate, ciliate above but not at the apex, midrib villous. Perianth tube 4 mm long, crisped pubescent, connate with the style. No hypogynous scales. Claw c. 1.7 mm long, pubescent, recurved, connate with the filament. Limb 1.7 mm long, linear, glabrous towards the apex. Anther 1 mm long, linear, soon devoid of pollen. Pollen triangular with pores at the apices and sides 42 µ long, not sticky. Stigma abortive, 1.5 mm long, clavate, minutely bifid, does not act as a pollen presenter. Style 2 mm long, filiform, becoming deflexed, connate with the perianth tube below. Male bud 6.5 mm long, somewhat thickened above, apex glabrous, densely crisped pubescent below. Receptacle 1.8 mm diam., globose. Female inflorescence 5 mm diam., solitary, terminal, conic-ovoid, glabrous, surrounded by a few narrow involucral leaves with 2 or 3 yellow flowers projecting at the apex showing their large bifid stigmas. Basal bracts numerous, varying in size, one measured 6 mm long, 6 mm broad at base, deltoid, sub-acute, ciliolate, glabrous. Floral bract 5.8-6 mm long, 1.8-2.8 mm broad, elliptic, obtuse, ciliate, glabrous except for a few long silky hairs, standing in a tuft of long silky hairs at the base. To either side are to be found long narrow pubescent sterile bracts. Perianth tube 5 mm long, villous above, glabrous below, connate in the middle. Claw 4 mm long, pubescent, recurved more than 180°. Limb 1.5 mm long, lanceolate-obtuse, pubescent, apex hooked in. Staminodes 0.5 mm long, linear, decumbent. Stigma 0.9 mm long, 1.2 mm broad, bifid, edges revolute. Style 7.5 mm long, filiform, erect, glabrous. Ovary 1.4 mm long, 1.2 mm diam., globose, densely clothed in the upper half with long silky hairs. No hypogynous scales. Fruit a cone 17 mm long, 8 mm diam., conic-ovoid, glabrous with the bracts red-tipped, 2 or 3 seeds ripening in each fruit. Seed a hard nutlet 5.5 mm long, tufted at the apex making it 8.5 mm overall, 2.2 mm broad, becoming 4-ribbed and glabrous at the base.