''Protea humiflora'', the patentleaf sugarbush, is a flower-bearing shrub belonging to the ''

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...

'' genus. The plant is endemic to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and occurs from the Du Toitskloof Mountains to the Langeberg and Waboomsberg. The plant grows to 2 m in diameter and flowers from July to September with its peak in August. Fire destroys the plant but the seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a shell and spread by the wind. The plant is unisexual. Pollination takes place through the action of rats and mice. The plant grows on dry slopes of Karoo fynbos at altitudes of 450 - 1 200 m.

References

humiflora Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews {{Proteaceae-stub