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  Aulax umbellata is a slender shrub, up to 2.5 metres tall, with bright yellow flowers contrasting vividly with the purplish brown young foliage around the flowers during summer. Aulax umbellata is one of the three species which form the genus Aulax, the other two being Aulax cancellata, the channel-leaf featherbush and Aulax pallasia, the needle-leaf featherbush. The genus name is from the Greek aulax, a furrow. This refers to the channeled leaves of Aulax cancellata. Aulax umbellata occurs mainly on coastal lowlands in the Western Cape Province, from Kogelberg to Stilbaai, where it often forms dense stands. The plants grow in very well drained sandy soil.
  
 
  
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