Floral Friday: Tulbagh Spiderhead

The Tulbagh spiderhead is a fynbos shrub great for an informal indigenous garden. During springtime ,when it is in full bloom it is attracts a large variety of bees, butterflies and beetles.

Description
Serruria triternata is a shrub growing about  1 m tall. In its natural habitat it is multi-stemmed, robust and sturdy. The leaves are needle-like and curve upwards. 
Hairy brown seeds are produced two months after flowering. The small silver white flowers are produced in dense flat-topped clusters along branch tips.

Conservation status

The Tulbagh spiderhead is classified as Near Threatened (NT) which means it does not currently qualify for any of the threat categories but is listed in the Red Data book (Raimondo et al. 2009).

 

Derivation of name and historical aspects
The genus Serruria was named after Dr James Serrurier who was a professor of botany at Utrecht in the early 18th century. Triternata means three times divided into three, referring to the dissected leaves.

Serruria is one of 14 genera making up the Proteaceae family. There are about 55 species within Serruria, all of which are endemic to the winter rainfall fynbos region of the south-western Western Cape. Of these 55 species, 49 species are listed in the current Red Data List, a very scary thought!

Ecology
The Tulbagh spiderhead is pollinated by various beetles, butterflies and moths. After pollination, seeds are produced and fall to the ground. Each seed has a white waxy tip at its base and is a favourite food of indigenous ants. Ants disperse the seed by carrying them underground to their nests where they eat off the elaiosome. The seed is now in safe storage, hidden away from predators like mice.  In early winter the rains begin and new seedlings germinate from the ant nests where they were safely protected.

The leaves of the Tulbagh spiderhead are tough and very narrow. This protects the plant from drying out in the hot sun and drying winds.

Serruria triternata was first collected for display at Kirstenbosch in 1988. It is not widely used in horticulture.

The best time to plant into the garden is at the start of the rainy season. This enables plants to establish themselves and send down deep roots before the hot, dry summer arrives.