Protea lorea R.Br.

Prostrate, tufted shrublet forming loose mats to 1 m in diameter. Stems subterranean, horizontally spreading a few millimetres below soil surface to form an open growth habit, each stem terminating in an erect tuft of leaves at ground level; stems glabrous, 10 mm in diameter, covered with tightly imbricate scales. Leaves glabrous, acicular, terete to subterete, 150-450 mm long, straight, apices tipped with a sharp black mucro. Inflorescences conic-acute in bud, opening to broadly obconic 80-120 mm long, 50-80 mm wide; prominently stipitate, stipe 10-70 mm long. Receptacle convex to conic-acute, 20-30 mm in diameter, 10 mm high. Involucral bracts 8-9 seriate; outer series narrowly ovate-obtuse to lanceolate-acute, tightly imbricate; inner series lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate-acute, 60-100 mm long, 7-16 mm wide; covered with a fine, densely sericeous indumentum. Perianth 75-85 mm long, straight to very slightly adaxially arcuate; tube region 10 mm long, glabrous, quadrangular; claws glabrous but villous on the inner margins of the perianth sheath; limbs abruptly differentiated from claws, 20 mm long, linear-acuminate, adaxially arcuate towards apex, abruptly and very densely lanate but median limb of perianth sheath glabrous. Style 75-90 mm long, compressed basally but terete and tapering terminally. Pollen presenter linear-acute, 10 mm long, very prominently geniculate at junction with style. Ovary obconic, 5 mm long,, covered with long, straight, white trichomes. Hypogynous scales obliquely ovate, 1 mm long, white. Flowering takes place during January and February.