Protea L.

Overview

Protea belongs to the protea family, Proteaceae. WCVP records the genus across Africa, from the Cape Provinces to Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya in tropical Africa, though most species are South African. SANBI notes that the family had already split into two subfamilies before Gondwana broke up about 140 million years ago; southern Africa has about 360 species, more than 330 of them confined to the Cape Floral Kingdom. The genus is named after Proteus, the Greek god who could change his shape at will, for its great variety of habit, flower size and colour.

The best known is the king protea, P. cynaroides, South Africa’s national flower and a famous cut flower. SANBI describes its “flower” as a head of many florets surrounded by large coloured bracts, 120–300 mm across, from creamy white to deep crimson, the silvery pale pink forms being most prized. Because forms from different localities flower at different times, it can be grown for export markets through the year, and it is now cultivated widely in New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii.

Classification and naming

WCVP cites Linnaeus’s Mantissa Plantarum (1771) as the place of publication. SANBI’s account of the silver tree, Leucadendron argenteum, tells the story: Linnaeus based his definition of Protea on the silver tree, calling it Protea argentea; in 1807 and 1810 Salisbury and Robert Brown reorganised the family into the genera recognised today, and Brown redefined and conserved the name Leucadendron, based on the silver tree. That is why Leucadendron appears among the generic synonyms below.

The king protea’s epithet cynaroides means “like an artichoke”, after its bud (SANBI). The plate above is P. cynaroides from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, plate 770 (1804).

Distribution

WCVP records the genus as native to 35 TDWG botanical regions.

AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadDR CongoEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMalawiMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabwe

Accepted species

WCVP accepts 107 species; names with × are natural hybrids. The count changes with revisions; checked 2026-10-24.

Historic plates

Plates in date order; the printed names are kept as they appear, current names are on the species pages and the topic page.

• 

  Protea mellifera

  Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 346 · 1796
  
• 

  Protea cynaroides

  Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 770 · 1804
  Sydenham Edwards
• 

  Protea scolymus

  Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 698 · 1804
  Sydenham Edwards

Ecology and cut-flower handling

SANBI notes that king proteas are pollinated by birds such as sugarbirds and sunbirds, and grow in fire-prone vegetation where natural fires come every ten to thirty years, resprouting from a thick underground woody stem (lignotuber). The florets open over a long period, which makes the head a lasting garden sight and a long-lived cut flower.

Floralife notes that proteas are not tropical flowers that must never be refrigerated, but prefer milder chilling: 4–10 °C, ideally 4 °C at 85% humidity. Vase life is 10–20 days, ethylene sensitivity is low and they perform well in foam. Stems are cut when mature (no soft tips) and the flowers when at least the outer florets are fully expanded; check that the leaves are not black. Leaf blackening is linked to low light and storage conditions: keep proteas in a well-lit place, use flower food and avoid high temperatures; decaying leaves in buckets and lack of hydration also contribute.

Further reading

• Flower guide
• Reference library

References

1. WCVP · World Checklist of Vascular Plants (via ChecklistBank dataset 2232) · accessed 2026-10-24
2. SANBI PlantZAfrica · Protea cynaroides (H.G. Jamieson, 2001, updated 2019)
3. SANBI PlantZAfrica · Leucadendron argenteum (Kirstenbosch)
4. Floralife · Protea care and handling