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Protea (/ ˈ p r oʊ t iː ə / [2]) is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: suikerbos).It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. [3]About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land from Clanwilliam to Grahamstown, South Africa.
The king protea is the national flower [4] of South Africa and as such lends its name to the national cricket team, whose nickname is "the Proteas". In the early 1990s, there was a political debate as to how and if the flower should be incorporated onto the national rugby teams shirts, perhaps replacing the controversial springbok .
Species such as the New South Wales waratah (Telopea speciosissima), king protea (Protea cynaroides), 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.
The leaves of Protea recondita curve over the flower heads of the plant as they mature, completely covering it -the photographer is holding them away in this photograph. This is thought to be an evolutionary adaption to hide the flowers from birds and insects; the preferred pollinators, rodents, do not use sight to find the flowers, but smell. [14]
Hanakotoba, also known as 花言葉 – Japanese form of the language of flowers; List of national flowers – flowers that represent specific geographic areas; Plants in culture – uses of plants by humans; Narcissus in culture – uses of narcissus flowers by humans
This is a popular local market cut flower in South Africa, where it is known by the common name of the Bot River protea.Its natural habitat is a narrow region of the south western Cape Province, and it occurs at altitudes less than 100m above sea level, in poor, sandy, generally highly leached acidic soils.
Protea pruinosa shares its habitat with two other species of rodent-pollinated proteas, these three each flower at different periods, which helps ensuring that the nectar-feeding rodents dwelling high up in these mountains are able to access these sources of food more or less continuously (there is an interruption during the spring, when there are no flowering proteas here), helps maintaining ...
Protea afra [3] (sometimes called the common protea), native to South Africa, is a small tree or shrub which occurs in open or wooded grassland, usually on rocky ridges. Its leaves are leathery and hairless. The flower head is solitary or in clusters of 3 or 4 with the involucral bracts a pale red, pink or cream colour. The fruit is a densely ...