Leucospermum praecox (Mossel Bay Pincushion)

Native to the Riversdale Flats of South Africa’s Western Cape, this robust shrub grows on lowland sandy soils. Its overlapping leaves are softly hairy when young, becoming smooth and leathery with age, and their tips carry several small teeth. Rounded flower heads open yellow, deepen to orange, and later turn red as they age. Birds pollinate the flowers, while ants carry the nut-like seeds underground. It is Vulnerable in South Africa, where agriculture, thatch harvesting and invasive plants threaten its habitat. Photographed in Florida.