Leucospermum are the eye candy of our spring protea harvest, and if you’re not already reveling in their splendor, we’re betting you will be soon. Who can resist all the beautiful flowering heads with masses of styles that look like pins bristling from a pincushion? Fanciful blooms atop long sturdy stems create colorful focal points not only in the field (or garden) but when displayed in floral designs. It’s magic time! And now it seems every year, we get to enjoy a new variety or cultivar as many of the Hawaiian Hybrids are becoming more readily available.
You see, back in the 1970's the University of Hawaii started working on an exclusive collection of new and improved cultivars of pincushions. The goals were aimed at improved color, increased vase life and good stem length. The results - some amazing hybrids, many of which have quite complex ancestry, some with even ten species parents.
These chic flowers are all style… or perhaps better said, all styles. In other words, their lively, round heads are formed mainly by the long, sprout-like structures, each one ending in a globular knob called a pollen presenter. Together, the mass of styles look a lot like pins bristling from a “pincushion”, a similarity that has given rise to the popular name for this genus.
So appropriate is the name “Pincushion Protea” that it has in fact replaced the original South African name of “Luisies” which refers to the grayish-white, rounded seeds found crumpled in the dried flower-heads.
Leucospermum comprises some forty-eight species, of which all but three are endemic to South Africa’s Cape Province. Flowering time is generally early winter through late spring. Unlike flowers of the genus Protea, which rely on their showy bracts for visual appeal, leucospermum put all their art into the colors of the flowers themselves as well as the flowing shape of each curving component.
In the 1970's the University of Hawaii’s Protea Research Project started working on an exclusive collection of new and improved cultivars of pincushions. The goals were aimed at improved color, increased vase life and good stem length. The results - some amazing and gorgeous hybrids, many of which have quite complex ancestry, some with even ten species parents.
Ahola, new from Hawaii - beautiful hybrid Leucospermum are the latest creation from the University of Hawai‘i’s Protea Research Project on Maui. Since the 1970's the University has been working on this exclusive collection of new and improved cultivars of pincushions, or pins, as they are more commonly called. This project was originally focused on breeding disease-resistant varieties, however, there was also plenty of enthusiasm to develop new hybrids for the cut flower industry. The goals were aimed at improved color, increased vase life and good stem length. The resulted - some amazing and gorgeous hybrids, many of which have quite complex ancestry – some with even ten species parents. The University is currently working on establishing the protocols for a wider distribution of these wonderful pincushions. Here’s a sampling of what’s blooming here in Rainbow.
Kula Sunrise & Metalica
Lailiana
Metalica
Phil Parvin
Brandi Dela Cruz
Blanche Ito
Jacqueline Halbrendt
Lani
Tsuruo Murakami
