Ceratocaryum

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Ceratocaryum argenteum (Western Cape, South Africa) 4.jpg

| image_caption = Ceratocaryum argenteum

| taxon = Ceratocaryum

| authority = Nees

| type_species = Ceratocaryum argenteum

| type_species_authority = Nees ex Kunth.

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

}}

Ceratocaryum is a group of plants in the Restionaceae described as a genus in 1836.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40004345|title=Tropicos {{!}} Name - Ceratocaryum Nees|website=www.tropicos.org|access-date=2017-07-23}}Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried Daniel. 1836. Natural System of Botany 451. The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa.{{Cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=232807|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|website=apps.kew.org|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-07-23}}

Two species in this genus, Ceratocaryum argenteum and Ceratocaryum pulchrum, have an unusual seed dispersal method. Its berries mimic the appearance and smell of antelope droppings. This tricks dung beetles into gathering and burying them.Midgley, J. J., White, J. D. M., Scholtz, C. H., & Johnson, S. D. (2021). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254629920311546 "Seed dispersal by dung beetles in Ceratocaryum pulchrum (Restionaceae): Another example of faecal mimicry in plants."] South African Journal of Botany, 137, 365-368.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-to-dupe-a-dung-beetle|title=How to Dupe a Dung Beetle|magazine=The New Yorker|date=5 October 2015|access-date=2017-07-23}}{{Cite journal|last1=Midgley|first1=Jeremy J.|last2=White|first2=Joseph D. M.|last3=Johnson|first3=Steven D.|last4=Bronner|first4=Gary N.|date=2015-10-05|title=Faecal mimicry by seeds ensures dispersal by dung beetles|journal=Nature Plants|language=en|volume=1|issue=10|pages=15141|doi=10.1038/nplants.2015.141|pmid=27251393|s2cid=20722232|issn=2055-0278}}

; Species

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Ceratocaryum argenteum Nees ex Kunth
• Ceratocaryum caespitosum H.P.Linder
• Ceratocaryum decipiens (N.E.Br.) H.P.Linder
• Ceratocaryum fimbriatum (Kunth) H.P.Linder
• Ceratocaryum fistulosum Mast.
• Ceratocaryum persistens H.P.Linder
• Ceratocaryum pulchrum H.P.Linder
• Ceratocaryum xerophilum (Pillans) H.P.Linder

}}