Mimetes fimbriifolius

Mimetes fimbriifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Mimetes
Species:	M. fimbriifolius
Binomial name
Mimetes fimbriifolius Salisb. ex Knight

Mimetes fimbriifolius, also called cowl pagoda or the fringed pagoda, is a species of plant in the Proteaceae family. It is endemic to the Table Mountain range in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.

Appearance

A dense, rounded, multi-branched tree that grows up to 4 metres in height, this attractive and striking plant flowers all year round and produces red and yellow branch-heads and inflorescences. The nectar-rich flowers are pollinated by sunbirds and the seeds are distributed and taken underground by ants before germinating.

Distribution

Indigenous to the Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos of the Cape Peninsula, this small tree used to be very common on Table Mountain but harvesting for fire wood and the spread of invasive alien plants have caused it to disappear from much of its former range.

Ecology

Mimetes fimbriifolius is the largest and longest-living of all Mimetes species. Its bark is exceptionally fire-resistant, allowing it to survive the seasonal fires that naturally sweep across all Fynbos vegetation.

See also

• Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos
• Biodiversity of Cape Town

Gallery

• 
  A small Cowl Pagoda (far left) growing on Table Mountain
• 
  Fully grown Cowl Pagoda in its natural habitat on the Cape Peninsula.