Protea convexa E.Phillips

Prostrate shrub with a single stout main stem to 50 mm in diameter, from which radiate numerous horizontally sprawling, dichotomously branched stems, the whole plant forming a dense mat 1-2 m in diam. Stems stout, woody, 10 mm in diam., covered with a reddish-brown, sticky, varnish-like resin. Leaves densely secund, very broadly obovate, 180-250 mm long, 60-100 mm wide, narrowed to a winged petiolar region; midrib prominent, pink tinged; apices rounded, occasionally cuspidate; surface heavily glaucous. Inflorescence 60-80 mm in diam., shallowly crateriform on opening. Involucral bracts 7-8 seriate, greenish yellow, tinged or flushed with carmine, somewhat thin textured and papyraceous; outer bracts ovate-obtuse 7-10 mm wide, 10 mm long, margins shortly ciliate; inner bracts oblong-obtuse, incurved, 20-30 mm long, 7-15 mm wide minutely puberulous proximally. Receptacle prominent, conic-acute, 30 mm in diam., 20 mm high. Perianth 25-30 mm long, adaxially arcuate; tube region 10 mm long, very prominently differentiated, quadrangular and winged, broadening distally but constricted at junction with claws, glabrous; claws filiform, pubescent along inner surface above tube, deep carmine; limbs 5-7 mm long, linear, sericeous, apices acute. Style strongly adaxially arcuate tapering terminally, minutely puberulous proximally. Pollen presenter 5 mm long, linear, scarcely differentiated from style. Ovary obconic 3 mm long, covered with long straight tawny hairs. Hypogynous scales oblong-obtuse, occasionally bifid, 1.5-2 mm long. Flowering takes place from late August until early November; October being the peak of the flowering season.