Diastella divaricata subsp. divaricata, the peninsula silkypuff, is a subspecies of Diastella that belongs to the genus Diastella and forms part of the fynbos. The plant is native to the Western Cape and is found on the Cape Peninsula south of the Silvermine Nature Reserve. The shrub is flat and grows only 50 cm high but 3 m in diameter and flowers throughout the year without an obvious peak.

Diastella divaricata subsp. divaricata
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Diastella
Species:	D. divaricata
Subspecies:	D. d. subsp. divaricata
Trinomial name
Diastella divaricata subsp. divaricata
Synonyms[2]
Diastella vacciniifolia Knight Mimetes parviflorus Klotzsch ex Krauss Mimetes vacciniifolius (Knight) Sweet

Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. Two months after flowering, the fruit falls off and ants disperse the seeds. They store the seeds in their nests. The plant is unisexual. Pollination takes place through the action of bees. The plant grows in moist sand at altitudes of 0-600 m.

References

External links

• http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=806-3
• https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/silkypuf.htm
• http://biodiversityexplorer.info/plants/proteaceae/diastella_divaricata.htm