Protea pendula R.Br.

An erect, compact, densely branched shrub of almost spherical growth form, 1-3 m in height and diam., with a short, stout main trunk, 100-150 mm in diam., soon dividing into numerous stocky branches. Stems 3-5 mm in diam., densely cine-reously puberulous at first, glabrescent to glabrous later. Leaves ascending but reflexed below inflorescences, narrowly oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spathulate, 30-55 mm long, 5-15 mm wide, mucronate, cinereously puberulous initially, later glabrous and grey-glaucescent. Inflorescences globose in bud, becoming shallowly crateriform on opening, 40-70 mm in diam., borne cernuously on short lateral shoots. Involucral receptacle conic-acute, 10-12 mm in diam., 10 mm high. Involucral bracts 4-5 seriate; outer series tightly imbricate, very broadly ovate-acute, 10-12 mm wide, 5-8 mm long, sericeous to densely sericeous; inner series broadly oblong, incurved, 25-35 mm long, 5-14 mm wide, apices rounded, concave, outer surface sericeous, occasionally with ferruginous patches, but margins glabrous. Perianth 25-30 mm long, adaxially arcuate; tube 5-8 mm long, glabrous; claws adaxially arcuate, glabrous, tapering terminally; limbs linear, acute, 6-8 mm long, sparsely tawny-villous, apices crinite. Anthers 4, linear, sessile. Style strongly adaxially arcuate, 25-30 mm long, broadened and ancipitous proximally, tapering and terete distally, glabrous. Pollen presenter linear-filiform, 5 mm long, scarcely differentiated from style. Ovary obconic, 2 mm long, covered in 10 mm long, straight, tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales oblong, often bilobed, 1 mm long. Between May and June, flowering is at its peak. Nevertheless, odd flower-heads continue to open as late as August.