Protea burchellii Stapf

An erect spreading shrub, 1-2 m in height, up to 3 m in diam., with a single main stem. Branches 5-8 mm in diam., cineraceous and sparsely villous at first, soon glabrous. Leaves linear to very narrowly oblong 70-170 mm long, 7-20 mm wide, very sparsely pubescent at first, soon glabrous, becoming scabridulous, margins and midrib prominent, horny, margins occasionally undulate, sessile to shortly petiolate at base, petiole 5-8 mm long, apices acute, mucronate. Inflorescences obconic, 90-110 mm long, 50-70 mm wide. Involucral receptacle conic-depressed, 15-20 mm wide, 5-7 mm high. Involucral bracts 4-5 seriate; outer series imbricate, ovate to oblong-ovate, acute, glabrous, 15-25 mm long, 10 mm wide; inner series exceeding the styles and perianths by a third of their length, very narrowly oblong to linear spathulate, 70-90 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, glabrous proximally but margins becoming densely ciliate distally, apices rounded to acute, densely bearded with purple-black, white or mixed black and white pubescence. Perianth 60-70 mm long, straight; tube 10 mm long, glabrous, becoming puberulous distally; claws slender with white villous pubescence interspersed with long, straight, purple trichomes; limbs 15-20 mm long, the abaxial limb linear acuminate, abaxial anther reduced to a staminode, villous, with white pubescence interspersed with long purple trichomes; limbs of the adaxial sheath prolonged into acuminate awns, median awn shorter than the two outer awns; awns lanate with white and purple pubescence interspersed. Style straight, 55-65 mm long, ancipitous, tapering terminally, lower two-thirds puberulous. Pollen presenter geniculate at junction with style, filiform-acute, often terminating in a minute adaxial hook. Ovary obconic, 5 mm long, covered with straight, tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales ovate, 1.5 mm long. Midwinter is the peak of the flowering season, with the main flush opening in June and July, but persisting into August.

It is a subtropical plant.