The Kleinmond spiderhead, as Serruria adscendens is locally known, is a single-stemmed shrub that reseeds, meaning that the plants do not resprout after fire, having to regrow from seed.
The nut-like fruits are dispersed by ants that feed on them, as on many seeds of plants in the Proteaceae family. After the ants’ meal, the intact seeds are deposited according to a long-standing natural “food for dispersal” pact. The edible bits or elaiosomes are fleshy attachments not vital to the seeds’ propagation, but providing the transactional currency.
The species distribution ranges in the Western Cape from the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Hermanus and Bredasdorp.
The habitat is coastal fynbos slopes and flats in sandy soils. The species is considered near threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century, due to too frequent veld fires, urban development, extended vineyards and golf estates (Bean and Johns, 2005; Mustart, et al, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).