| Protea dracomontana | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Protea |
| Species: | P. dracomontana |
| Binomial name | |
| Protea dracomontana Beard | |
| Synonyms | |
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Protea dracomontana, the Nyanga protea or the Drakensberg sugarbush, is a flowering plant that belongs within the genus Protea. The plant is found in the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and the escarpment of the Free State, as well as eastern Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe this species is only known from a disjunct subpopulation confined to the summit of Mount Nyangani.
Another vernacular name for this plant is Drakensberg dwarf sugarbush. In Afrikaans it is known as the Drakensbergse dwergsuikerbos.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by John Stanley Beard in 1958, from a specimen, the holotype, which he had collected on Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe.
Protea inyanganiensis is an (illegitimate) synonym for the Zimbabwe population created by Beard in 1993.
Description
It is a shrub which has numerous stems and grows up to 1.5 metres high, often less. The plant blooms mainly from January to March. This species is monoecious with both sexes in each flower. The flowers are grouped together in a tight-packed inflorescence ('flower-head'), surrounded by petal-looking bracts, which is 6–9 cm in diameter, and is coloured creamy-white, often tinged with pink at the tips of the innermost bracts and the flowers.
The stems are reddish-brown to grey, glabrous and smooth to the touch.
It is extremely similar to Protea afra subsp. gazensis in Zimbabwe, which occurs contemptuously at lower altitudes than P. dracomontana, and P. afra subsp. afra in South Africa, for which the same applies. It is primarily distinguished from these taxa by having shorter inflorescences and a short, squat, bushy habitus. Rourke (1980) states possible hybrids between the two may exist.
Ecology
This species can re-sprout again after wildfires from a bole-shaped rootstock, although it seems to need some protection from wildfires and is always found growing among rocks. Pollination occurs through the action of birds and insects. The seed is not stored on the plant, is released nine to twelve months after the flowers are formed, and is dispersed by action of the wind.
The plant grows in alpine grasslands and among rocks at heights of 1,600 m to 2,200 metres in South Africa, and peaty tussock grassland at 2,300 to 2,400 metres altitude, perhaps higher, at the summit of a single mountain in Zimbabwe.
Conservation
It is not in danger of extinction. It has declined somewhat in the Drakensberg foothills due to habitat loss caused by agriculture, timber plantations and expanding rural settlements. It may be locally extinct in Lesotho. Nonetheless, it is widespread and common in the Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal and adjacent areas in the Free State Province. It is rare in Zimbabwe.
References
- Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Protea dracomontana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T113209593A157946134. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113209593A157946134.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Protea dracomontana | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ Hyde, Mark; Wursten, Bart; Ballings, Petra; Coates Palgrave, Meg (2000). "Protea dracomontana Beard". Flora of Zimbabwe. Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "Protea dracomontana Beard". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. 2000. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (15 April 2019). "Drakensberg Sugarbush". Red List of South African Plants. version 2020.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "Protea dracomontana (Drakensberg sugarbush)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko - Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ "Grassland Sugarbushes - Proteas". Protea Atlas Project Website. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Protea dracomontana | |