Protea is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes. It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family.
Leucospermum commonly known as pincushions, is a genus of evergreen upright, sometimes creeping shrubs that is assigned to the Proteaceae, with currently 48 known species.
The Cape sugarbird is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentrations of diversity. Together with the Platanaceae, Nelumbonaceae and in the recent APG IV system the Sabiaceae, they make up the order Proteales. Well-known Proteaceae genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea, Hakea, and Macadamia. Species such as the New South Wales waratah, king protea, and various species of Banksia, Grevillea, and Leucadendron are popular cut flowers. The nuts of Macadamia integrifolia are widely grown commercially and consumed, as are those of Gevuina avellana on a smaller scale.
Protea neriifolia, also known as the narrow-leaf sugarbush, oleander-leaved sugarbush, blue sugarbush, or the oleanderleaf protea, is a flowering plant in the genus Protea, which is endemic to South Africa.
Mimetes, the pagoda, is a genus of evergreen shrubs or small trees 0.5–6 m (1.6–19.7 ft) high, with thirteen species assigned to the family Proteaceae. This genus, as with other proteas, is popular with nectarivorous birds such as the Cape sugarbird and several sunbird species. All species of Mimetes are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.
Mimetes chrysanthus is an evergreen, upright shrub of 1½–2 m high that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has green, slightly stalked oval leaves of 3–4½ cm (1.2–1.8 in) long and 1–1¾ cm (0.4–0.7 in) wide. The inflorescences are near the tip of the branches, cylinder-shaped and consist of 50–70 densely cropped flower heads, each in the axil of a green leaf, consisting of 25–35 golden yellow, faintly sweet scented flowers. It is endemic to the Fynbos ecoregion of South Africa and is found in two locations, in the Western Cape province. The flowering season is from March to May or June, but flower heads sometimes occur in any other part of the year.
Protea aristata is a compact shrub with beautiful flowers which is endemic to the southwestern part of the Cape Region of South Africa. P. aristata has become one of South Africa's most famous proteas in spite of its relatively late discovery, and re-discovery in 1953. The leaves are soft, dense and needle-like and the flower heads are a stunning crimson red, it may thus be a good potential ornamental plant for South African gardens. It is usually called the Ladismith sugarbush in South African English, although it has been called pine sugar bush in Australia. In the Afrikaans language it has the vernacular name of klein-den-suikerbos.
Mimetes cucullatus is an evergreen shrub with several, mostly not branching, upright stems of 1–2 m (3–7 ft) high, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It is the most widespread and most common pagoda species that can cope with a relatively large range of environmental circumstances. It is known under several names including common pagoda in English and rooistompie in Afrikaans.
Proteoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the plant family Proteaceae. The greatest diversity of the subfamily is in Africa, but there are also many species in Australia. A few species occur in South America, New Caledonia, and elsewhere.
Mimetes fimbriifolius, also called cowl pagoda or the fringed pagoda, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a dense, rounded, multi-branched tree that grows up to 4 metres in height. This attractive and striking plant flowers all year round, and produces red and yellow branch-heads and inflorescences. The nectar-rich flowers are pollinated by sunbirds and the seeds are distributed and taken underground by ants before germinating. It is endemic to the Table Mountain range in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.
Protea roupelliae is a species of Protea in the large family Proteaceae, and was named to commemorate Arabella Elizabeth Roupell (1817-1914) who spent two years in Cape Town and painted local flowers for her own pleasure. This species is also known as the silver sugarbush.
Leucospermum hypophyllocarpodendron is a creeping, mat-forming shrub with heads of yellow flowers and leathery, upright narrow leaves with some red-tipped teeth at their tips, from the family Proteaceae. It has long thin branches that originate from an underground rootstock and grows on poor, sandy soils in southwestern South Africa. The rose-scented flower heads can be found for August to January and are visited by different monkey beetles, bees and flies. It has two subspecies, one with greyish leaves U-shaped in cross section called grey snakestem pincushion in English and gruisslangbossie in Afrikaans, the other with green leaves that are flat in cross-section called green snakestem pincushion and groenslangbossie.
Leucadendron microcephalum, common name oilbract conebrush, is a dioecious, single-stemmed, South African shrub belonging to the family Proteaceae, endemic to the Western Cape and growing from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft). It is one of some 200 species in the genus, all confined to South Africa.
Leucospermum oleifolium is an erect shrub of about 1 m (3.3 ft) high and 1½ m (5 ft) across that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has spreading branches, densely set with initially felty, entire, oval, olive-colored leaves of about 3½ cm long and 1½ cm (0.6 in) wide, with a bony tip that sometimes has two to five blunt teeth, with a blunt base and conspicuous veins. The flowers and their long thread-like styles are initially sulfur yellow, but soon become orange and finally turn brilliant crimson. The flower heads are about 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, crowded at the tip of the branches with a maximum of five that start flowering in turn. This provides for a colour spectacle from August till December. It is called by various names in South Africa such as Overberg pincushion, flame pincushion, mix pincushion and tuft pincushion. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Leucospermum cuneiforme is an upright evergreen shrub with many pustules growing on the lower branches, wedge-shaped leaves, and oval, initially yellow flower heads that later turn orange, with long styles sticking far beyond the perianths, jointly giving the impression of a pincushion. It is called wart-stemmed pincushion in English and luisiesbos (lice-bush) in Afrikaans. The species is common in the southern mountains of South Africa.
Leucospermum calligerum is a softly hairy shrub, with wand-like branches, entire ovate leaves that have a bony tip of about 25 × 6 mm, and globular heads of 2–3½ cm (0.8–1.4 in) in diameter, with two to six together near the tip of the branches and flowering in turn, that consist of 4-merous flowers, initially cream-colored, later pink, with the petals curled and the styles 2–2½ cm (0.8–1.0 in) long, sticking out like pins from a cushion. It is called arid pincushion or common louse pincushion in English and rooiluisie in Afrikaans. Well-scented flowers can be found from July to January. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
Leucospermum tottum is an upright, evergreen shrub of up to 1½ m high and 2 m (6 ft) in diameter from the Proteaceae. The oblong, mostly entire leaves with a bony tip are somewhat spreading and distant from each other, and so exposing the stem. It is called elegant pincushion or ribbon pincushion in English, and oranje-rooi speldekussing or vuurhoutjies in Afrikaans. Flowers can be found between September and January. The species naturally occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Two different varieties are distinguished, which are genetically very close, but differ in the color, orientation and tube-length of the flowers, the volume and sugar content of the nectar. This is probably an adaptation to different pollinators.
Leucospermum rodolentum is an upright, evergreen shrub of up to 3.0 m high, from the family Proteaceae. It has felty grey, elliptic to wedge-shaped leaves of 4–6½ cm (1.8–2.6 in) long and ¾–1½ cm wide, and very sweetly scented, globe-shaped, 3–3½ cm (1.2–1.4 in) wide, bright yellow flower heads, that are seated or on a very short stalk of ½ cm long, grouped with two to four together. Its common names include is sandveld pincushion in English and sandluisie or sandveldluisiesbos in Afrikaans. The plants are in bloom between August and November. It is an endemic species that only grows in a small area of the Western Cape province of South-Africa.
Protea repens, known as the common sugarbush and in Afrikaans as the suikerbossie, is an erect shrub growing in the southern Cape Provinces of South Africa. This species is relatively adaptable and variable and can be found growing widely in various soils. Due to its showy flowers and adaptability, it is a popular subject for use in wildlife gardens in South Africa.
