Protea asper E.Phillips

A low, prostrate tufted rhizomatous shrublet forming loose clumps up to 0.5 m in diam. and up to 200 mm in height. Stems largely subterranean, 5-10 mm in diam., glabrous, covered with black leaf scars, producing aerial shoots emerging 100-200 mm above soil level bearing a tuft of leaves, usually terminating in an inflorescence. Leaves linear, flat, straight to subfalcate, tapering slightly in the petiolar region, 70-200 mm long, 3-14 mm wide, softly villous initially, soon becoming glabrous and scabrous, apices mucronate. Inflorescences ovoid-oblong, 65-95 mm long, 40-60 mm wide. Involucral receptacle conic-acute, 10-15 mm wide, 15-20 mm high. Involucral bracts 4-6 seriate, outer surface softly sericeous with a silvery to fawn to slightly ferruginous indumentum; outer series ovate-oblong, obtuse, 8-12 mm wide, 10-18 mm long; inner series oblong, 30-75 mm long, 5-12 mm wide, obtuse, becoming widely splayed at anthesis, sericeous but becoming densely velutinous towards apices of innermost series. Perianth 55-70 mm long, straight, prominently exerted beyond the involucral bracts prior to anthesis, villous to sericeous except for glabrous tube region; tube 10-12 mm long, quadrangular, prominently quadrangular and ribbed, glabrous but becoming densely velutinous distally; claws slender, very densely villous on both inner and outer surfaces; limbs straight, linear, densely adpressed sericeous, apices acuminate, silvery to ferruginously crinite. Anthers 4, subsessile. Style 50-70 mm long, slightly adaxially arcuate, ancipitous proximally but becoming terete distally; glabrous but very occasionally puberulous proximally. Pollen presenter linear, 10 mm long, scarcely differentiated from style. Ovary obconic, 5 mm long, covered with straight tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales 2 mm long, broadly lanceolate. Flowering occurs chiefly in September and October but continues into November and December.