Protea lacticolor Salisb.

Robust, erect shrub or small tree, 2-6 m in height, with a single short main trunk 80-300 mm in diam. at base; bark grey. Stems 3-8 mm in diam., puberulous initially, later glabrous. Leaves ascending, imbricate, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate or ovate, 70-110 mm long, 25-50 mm wide, truncate to subcordate at base, apices subacute; puberulous initially, soon quite glabrous. Inflorescences oblong, opening to narrowly obconic, 60-80 mm long, 50-60 mm in diam. Involucral receptacle 10-15 mm in diam., flat to concave. Involucral bracts 5-6 seriate, outer surface densely adpressed sericeous; outer series very broadly ovate, 6-10 mm long, 8-14 mm wide, margins thickly fimbriate; inner series broadly to narrowly oblong, 35-50 mm long, 6-12 mm wide, apices rounded, concave, incurved, densely fimbriate with long silky trichomes, white to slightly ferruginous. Perianth straight, 55-70 mm long; tube quadrangular, 6-8 mm long, glabrous proximally, ferruginously pilose distally and merging imperceptibly with the filiform claws, densely ferruginously pilose on inner and outer surfaces; limbs 15 mm long, straight, glabrous, except for the prominently silky-crinite apices with adaxially deflected tufts of pale tawny trichomes. Anthers 4, linear, sessile. Style 65-70 mm long, straight, ancipitous, glabrous. Pollen presenter straight, 10-12 mm long, adaxially bent and geniculate at junction with style, filiform but apex minutely capitellate and adaxially oblique. Ovary 2 mm long, obconic, covered with 10 mm long, straight, tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales lanceolate, 2 mm long. Autumn is the peak of the flowering season, especially between March and April, although blooms can be found as early as February or as late as June.