Protea parvula Beard

A low, procumbent shrublet 8-16 cm in height with numerous simple to sparsely branched stems up to 1 m in length arising from a large subterranean lignotuber. Stems procumbent, trailing, very rarely suberect or erect, glabrous, 2-4 mm in diameter. Leaves sessile to subsessile, closely ranked, secund to subsecund, only occasionally ascending to patent, linear, lanceolate, elliptic or oblanceolate, occasionally subfalcate, 0.5-2.0 cm wide, 6-14 cm long, acute or obtuse, glabrous, slightly glaucous, the margins and petioles flushed with red. Inflorescences globose in bud becoming shallowly crateriform on opening and later assuming a flattened, everted position, 3.5-6 cm in diameter; sessile to stipitate, stipe up to 2.5 cm long. Receptacle conic-depressed, acute, 1-1.5 cm in diameter. Involucral bracts 4-5 seriate; outer series broadly ovate, acute, 0.7-1 cm wide, 0.5-0.8 cm long, glabrous; inner series oblong, concave, apices rounded to obtuse, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, 2.5-3.0 cm long, whitish green to pink, glabrous but occasionally with minutely ciliate margins. Perianth straight to slightly adaxially arcuate, 2.5-3.5 cm long, glabrous but usually ferruginously villous on inner proximal surface of perianth sheath; limbs 8-10 mm long, glabrous to ferruginously villous at apices; apices acute to uncinate; tube region 5-7 mm long, the perianth segments considerably broadened. Style straight to slightly adaxially arcuate, 3-3.5 cm long. Pollen presenter 5 mm long, linear-filiform, scarcely differentiated from style. Anthers 4, sessile, 8 mm long. Hypogynous scales ovate-acute, 2 mm long. Ovary obconic, 5 mm long, covered with long silky ferruginous hairs. Flowering depends on seasonal conditions, particularly the time and frequency of burning, but can be expected to take place between mid-December and mid-March.