The sun conebush is a perennial plant that flowers between July and August (2) (4). The flowers of both sexes possess identical floral parts, but in the female flower, the male sexual organs, the stamens, are sterile, and in the male flower, the female sexual organ, the gynoecium, is sterile. Beetles, wasps and bees, which are attracted by the sweet, sugar-rich nectar, are the main pollinators (2). Around four months after pollination, the ripe seeds drop to the ground, where they are typically collected and stored in burrows by small rodents. This type of seed dispersal is unusual for a fynbos shrub, as normally the seeds are dispersed by the wind, and although many seeds will be consumed by the rodents, a large number will survive (2) (5). The seeds will be stimulated to germinate by the changes in temperature, pH and oxygen levels that follow natural fires. This behaviour serves to protect the seeds from fires, which may kill much of the above-ground vegetation, allowing the young plants to thrive in open, less competitive areas, in the fires wake (2).