Protea repens

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Protea repens
Protea repens 20D 4732.jpg
Growing wild in fynbos habitat
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Protea
Species:
P. repens
Binomial name
Protea repens
(L.) L.

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.

Contents

Etymology

The name of the plant family Proteaceae as well as the genus Protea, both to which P. repens belongs to, derive from the name of the Greek god Proteus, a deity that was able to change between many forms. This is an appropriate image, seeing as both the family and the genus are known for their astonishing variety and diversity of flowers and leaves.

The specific epithet repens means 'creeping', a case of mistaken identity, where Linnaeus used two different illustrated plates to describe the species: one was of P. repens, and the other showed a dwarf creeping plant of a different species. [2]

Description

Protea repens is a dense shrub growing between 1 and 4 metres (3 ft 3 in and 13 ft 1 in) in height. The inflorescences, ranging in colour from deep red to a creamy white, are borne at the end of the branch, often nestled between two growing branchlets.

Habitat

This species grows widely in fynbos on a variety of soils. [3] Like many other Protea species, P. repens is adapted to an environment in which bushfires are essential for reproduction and regeneration. Most Protea species can be placed in one of two broad groups according to their response to fire: reseeders are killed by fire, but fire also triggers the release of their canopy seed bank, thus promoting recruitment of the next generation; resprouters survive fire, resprouting from a lignotuber or, more rarely, epicormic buds protected by thick bark. P. repens is a reseeder, where its life cycle depends on its seeds which may have been stored underground by ants or remained on the old flowerheads. [3]

Ecology

This species' large showy inflorescences are pollinated by both nectarivorous birds and insects, such as the Cape Honeybee.

Cultivation and human uses

Due to the large amount of nectar it produces, people have historically boiled down this nectar to make a syrup called bossiestroop. [3]

This species is hardy to zone (UK) 9 and is frost tender. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Protea cynaroides</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea cynaroides, also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.

<i>Leucospermum</i> Genus of shrubs in the family Proteaceae

Leucospermum is a genus of evergreen upright, sometimes creeping shrubs that is assigned to the Proteaceae, with currently forty-eight known species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proteaceae</span> Family of ducks plants

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.

<i>Protea neriifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

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.

<i>Protea aristata</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

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.

<i>Protea scolymocephala</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea scolymocephala, also known as the thistle protea or thistle sugarbush, is a flowering plant from the genus Protea native to South Africa.

<i>Leucospermum cuneiforme</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the southern mountains 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.

<i>Protea magnifica</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea magnifica, commonly known as the queen protea, is a shrub, which belongs to the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, and which is native to South Africa.

<i>Leucospermum tottum</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the Western Cape 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.

<i>Protea recondita</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea recondita, also known as the hidden sugarbush, is a flowering plant of the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, which is endemic to the Cape Region of South Africa, and distributed from the Piketberg and Cederberg to the Groot Winterhoek mountains. The flowers of this unusual plant are pollinated by non-flying mammals: rodents and elephant shrews. In the Afrikaans language it is known as gesigtoehouprotea or skaamroos.

<i>Protea intonsa</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea intonsa, also known as the tufted sugarbush, is a flowering plant of the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where it is distributed from the eastern Swartberg and Kammanassie Mountains to the Baviaanskloof mountains. In Afrikaans it is known as klossie-suikerbos.

<i>Protea pudens</i> Flowering tree

Protea pudens, also known as the bashful sugarbush, is a low-growing, groundcover-like, flowering shrub in the genus Protea. It is only found growing in the wild in a small area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Protea burchellii</i> Species of flowering plant

Protea burchellii, also known as Burchell's sugarbush, is a flowering shrub in the genus Protea, which is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea angustata</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea angustata, also known as the Kleinmond sugarbush, is a flowering shrub that belongs to the genus Protea. This plant is endemic to the south-west Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea pityphylla</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea pityphylla, also known as Ceres sugarbush or mountain rose, is a flowering shrub of the genus Protea, in the family Proteaceae. The plant is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea nana</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea nana, also known as the mountain rose or mountain-rose sugarbush, is a flowering shrub which belongs within the genus Protea.

<i>Protea pruinosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea pruinosa, also known as frosted sugarbush or burnished protea, is a flowering shrub which belongs to the genus Protea within the botanical family Proteaceae. The plant is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa.

<i>Protea caespitosa</i> Species of plant

Protea caespitosa, also known as hottentot bishop sugarbush or bishop sugarbush, is a flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea which is only found growing in the wild in South Africa.

<i>Protea venusta</i> Species of flowering plant

Protea venusta, the cascade sugarbush or creeping beauty, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging to the genus Protea. It is endemic to South Africa.

Leucadendron sheilae, the Lokenberg conebush, is a flower-bearing shrub that belongs to the genus Leucadendron and forms part of the fynbos, a South African biogeographical region. The plant is native to the Western and Northern Capes, where it occurs at Lokenberg in the Bokkeveld Mountains. The plant grows mainly in hard sandstone sand on level crests at altitudes of 600 to 900 metres (2,000–3,000 ft). In Afrikaans it is known as Lokenberg-tolbos.

References

  1. Rebelo, A.G.; Mtshali, H.; von Staden, L. (2020). "Protea repens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T113214987A185583475. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T113214987A185583475.en .
  2. "Honey-bearing Protea" . Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Protea repens" . Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. "Plants for a Future" . Retrieved 17 February 2020.