| Blyde River protea | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| habit and flower head | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Protea |
| Species: | P. laetans |
| Binomial name | |
| Protea laetans L.E.Davidson | |
Protea laetans, the Blyde River protea or Blyde sugarbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It was recognised as a species in 1970, and is endemic to the Blyde River Canyon of the Mpumalanga escarpment, South Africa. [2] The slender plants are up to 5m tall and flower from mid to late summer. The bracts of their closed flower heads are shiny and silvery in appearance. [2] They are most easily viewed near the F.H. Odendaal camp of the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. Laetans means joyous, i.e. Blyde.
