''Protea cynaroides'', also called the king protea, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

. It is a distinctive member of ''

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 ...

'', having the largest

flower head A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

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 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 coun ...

in the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

region. The king protea is the national flower of

. It also is the flagship of th
Protea Atlas Project
run by the South African National Botanical Institute. The king protea has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognized 81 garden varieties, some of which have injudiciously been planted in its natural range. In some varieties the pink of the flower and red borders of leaves are replaced by a creamy yellow. This unusual flower has a long

vase life Vase life is the period during which a cut flower or cut foliage retains its appearance in a vase. This is a major consideration in identifying plant species suitable for use in floristry, plants with a long vase life being far more desirable than ...

in flower arrangements, and makes for an excellent dried flower. ''Protea cynaroides'' is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire.

Taxonomy

''Protea cynaroides'' is a species of

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 ...

in the huge family

Proteaceae 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. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order ...

. The family comprises about 80

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

with about 1600

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

. It has

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final sta ...

n distribution, which means that it is mainly spread across the Southern Hemisphere, from

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, across to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, although certain species are also found in equatorial Africa,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, southern Asia and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

as well. ''Protea cynaroides'' is further placed within the subfamily

Proteoideae Proteoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the plant family Proteaceae. The greatest diversity is in Africa, but there are also many species in Flora of Australia, Australia; a few species occur in South America, New Caledonia, and elsewhere. ...

, which is found mainly in Southern Africa. This subfamily is defined as those species having

cluster root Cluster roots, also known as proteoid roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two- to five-centimetre-thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chem ...

s, solitary

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the '' integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the ...

s and indehiscent fruits. Proteoideae is further divided into four tribes: Conospermeae, Petrophileae, Proteae and Leucadendreae. The genus ''Protea'', and hence ''P. cynaroides'', is placed under the tribe Proteae.

Etymology

The name of the plant family Proteaceae as well as the genus ''Protea'', both to which ''P. cynaroides'' belongs to, derive from the name of the Greek god

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

, 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 ''cynaroides'' refers to the artichoke-like appearance of the flower-heads: the artichoke belongs to the genus ''

Cynara ''Cynara'' is a genus of thistle-like perennial plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, northwestern Africa, and the Canary Islands. The genus name comes from the Greek ''kynara'', which me ...

''.

Description

''P. cynaroides'' is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green, glossy leaves. Most plants are one metre in height when mature, but may vary according to locality and habitat from in height. The "flowers" of ''P. cynaroides'' are actually composite flower heads (termed an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

) with a collection of flowers in the centre, surrounded by large colourful bracts, from about in diameter. Large, vigorous plants produce six to ten flower heads in one season, although some exceptional plants can produce up to forty flower heads on one plant. The colour of the bracts varies from a creamy white to a deep crimson, but the soft pale pink bracts with a silvery sheen are the most prized.

Ecology

''Protea cynaroides'' grows in a harsh environment with dry, hot summers and wet, cold winters. Several adaptions include tough, leathery leaves, which helps to prevent excessive loss of moisture, and a large

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

which penetrates deep into the soil to reach underground moisture. Like most other Proteaceae, ''P. cynaroides'' has

proteoid root Cluster roots, also known as proteoid roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two- to five-centimetre-thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by ch ...

s, roots with dense clusters of short lateral rootlets that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. These enhance solubilisation of nutrients, thus allowing nutrient uptake in the low-nutrient,

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

-deficient soils of its native fynbos habitat. The flowers are fed at by a range of nectarivorous birds, mainly sunbirds and sugarbirds, including the

orange-breasted sunbird The orange-breasted sunbird (''Anthobaphes violacea'') is a species of small, predominantly nectar-feeding bird that is endemic to the fynbos shrubland biome of southwestern South Africa. It is the only member of the genus ''Anthobaphes'', in th ...

(''Anthobaphes violacea''),

southern double-collared sunbird The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (''Cinnyris chalybeus'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range. Habitat Th ...

(''Cinnyris chalybeus''),

malachite sunbird The malachite sunbird (''Nectarinia famosa'') is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. They pollinate many flowering plants, particularly those with long corolla tubes, in the Fynbos. Taxonom ...

(''Nectarinia famosa''), and the

Cape sugarbird The Cape sugarbird (''Promerops cafer'') is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Description The Cape sugarbird is a grey-brown bird that is easily recogni ...

(''Promerops cafer''). In order to reach the nectar, the bird must push its bill into the inflorescence. As it does so, its bill and face gets brushed with

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

, thereby allowing for possible pollination. Promerops cafer 4

Along with birds, a host of insects are attracted to the flowerhead, such as

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s, for example the

Cape honeybee The Cape honey bee or Cape bee (''Apis mellifera capensis'') is a southern South African subspecies of the western honey bee. They play a major role in South African agriculture and the economy of the Western Cape by pollinating crops and produc ...

, and various beetle species such as

rove beetles The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, th ...

and the beetles of the huge family

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

such as the protea beetle '' Trichostetha fascicularis'' and monkey beetles. Like many other ''Protea'' species, ''P. cynaroides'' 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; ''

resprouter Resprouters are plant species that are able to survive fire by the activation of dormant vegetative buds to produce regrowth. Plants may resprout from a bud bank that can be located in different places, including in the trunk or major branches ( ...

s'' survive fire, resprouting from a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

or, more rarely,

epicormic bud An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up t ...

s protected by thick bark. ''P. cynaroides'' is a resprouter as it shoots up new stems from buds in its thick underground stem after a fire.

Sport

The king protea is the national flower of

and as such lends its name to the national cricket team, whose nickname is "

the Proteas The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

" 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 The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...

Gallery

File:Protea cynaroides 'Arctic Ice' kz3.jpg, Protea cynaroides 'Arctic Ice' a white cultivar File:Protea flower02.jpg File:Protea flower.jpg File:Protea cynaroides 1.jpg File:Protea cynaroides 2.jpg File:Protea cynaroides 4.jpg File:Protea cynaroides 5.jpg File:Protea cynaroides 6.jpg File:Protea_cynaroides_flower.jpg File:King Protea 01.jpg File:Protea_P1010883.JPG, Western Cape, South Africa File:Protea_P1010885.JPG, Western Cape, South Africa File:King Protea bush.jpg File:King Protea flower towards end of flowering.JPG, On Table Mountain, eastern table, near Mclear Beacon

References

External links

*
Protea cynaroides info on PlantZAfrica.com
- from the South African National Biodiversity Institute {{Taxonbar, from=Q1930962 cynaroides Flora of the Cape Provinces Garden plants of Southern Africa National symbols of South Africa