Leucospermum reflexum var. luteum

Leucospermum reflexum var. luteum, the yellow-flowering variety of the rocket pincushion or in Afrikaans the perdekop (horse head), is a large, rounded, grey-leaved shrub, growing from a single, woody stem and reaching heights to 3 m, occasionally 5 m. The lowest, smooth, grey stems are leafless.

The distribution of this variety of L. reflexum is even smaller than that of the red-flowering variety. This one is only known from a small area in the Cederberg near Heuningvlei.

The plants grow near streambanks and other moist places on upper slopes in the generally hot and arid sandstone fynbos. L. reflexum as a species without reference to this, its smaller variety, is considered near threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century, mainly due to rooibos farming and drought (Manning, 2009; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; http://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).