Spatalla incurva

Spatalla incurva
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Spatalla
Species:	S. incurva
Binomial name
	Spatalla incurva; (Thunb.) R.Br., (1810)

Spatalla incurva, the swan-head spoon is a flowering shrub that belongs to the genus Spatalla and forms part of the fynbos. The plant is endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa where it occurs in the Cederberg up to the Hottentots Hollandberge, Swartberg and Kammanassieberge.

The shrub grows to 1.0 m tall, tends to spread and flowers mainly from November to December. Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. The plant is bisexual and pollination takes place through the action of insects. Two months after the plant has flowered, the fruit ripens and the seeds fall to the ground where they are spread by ants. The plant grows in rock crevices on mountain tops at elevations of 1,350 - 2,300 m.

References

^ Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Spatalla incurva". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T113241028A185535911. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113241028A185535911.en. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

Sources

[1] Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Spatalla incurva". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T113241028A185535911. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113241028A185535911.en. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

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