Karoo Pincushion

Leucospermum saxatile is a low, rising to sprawling shrub of 0.5–0.75 m (1.7–2.5 ft) high and 1–1.5 m (3.3–5 ft) wide. The reddish tinged flowering stems initially carry some soft hairs, which are soon lost, and are 2–4 mm (0.08–0.16 in) thick. The leaves are loosely pointing at an angle towards the tip of the stem, or are very rarely pointed upward, are line-shaped, narrowing wedge-shaped to the foot, 2.5–5 cm(1–2 in) long and 2–5 mm (0.08–0.20 in) wide, initially covered in powdery hairs, which are soon lost. The tip mostly has one thickened tooth, sometimes two or three and the margins often curl inwards. The flower heads are whorl-shaped (or turbinate), 2.5–3 cm (1–1¼ in) across, usually set individually but occasionally grouped with two or three, each on a stalk of 0.5–1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) long. The common base of the flowers in the same head is flat, approximately 7 mm (0.28 in) across. The bracts that subtend the head are lance-shaped with a pointy or pointed tip, 0.5–1 cm (0.2–0.4 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide, cartilaginous in consistency, softly hairy, and set in four overlapping whorls. The bract that subtends each flower individually is densely silky hairy, with a regular row of equal-length hairs along the edge, lance-shaped with a pointy or pointed tip, 1¼–2.5 cm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.10 in) wide. …

Leucospermum saxatile only occurs in a narrow zone of so-called arid fynbos, along the northern slopes of the Langeberg near Riversdale district, fringing the renosterveld of the Little Karroo, from Rietvlei westwards to Muiskraal, a distance of just 30 km (20 mi), at an altitude of 450–600 m (1500–2000 ft). Locally dense stands either scramble over the neighboring shrubs or spread across the barren rock.