Protea restionifolia (salisb. ex Knight) Rycroft

A low tufted shrublet forming clumps up to 1 m in diameter, to 300 mm in height. Stems 10-12 mm in diam., subterranean, highly branched, covered with sharp peg-like leaf scars; sometimes becoming exposed on soil surface and developing a heavily fissured black bark. Leaves in terminal tufts at stem apices; acicular, scabrous; terete proximally, becoming minutely canaliculate distally on the under surface, 190-300 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, sparsely covered with long, weak white hairs, apex mucronate. Inflorescences ovoid, 30-70 mm long, 30-60 mm in diam. Involucral receptacle conic-depressed, 8-10 mm wide, 8-10 mm high. Involucral bracts 4-5 seriate; outer series broadly ovate, tightly imbricate, 10 mm wide, 10-15 mm long glabrous proximally but becoming ferrugineously pubescent distally; margins ciliate; inner series oblong to linear spathulate, apices widely rounded, splayed, 30-50 mm long, 3-10 mm wide, outer surface densely velutinous with a red ferrugineous to dark chocolate brown indumentum, thickening distally but becoming sparse proximally. Perianth 35-55 mm long, slightly adaxially curved, covered with soft white villous pubescence, except for glabrous base of perianth tube; tube region 8-10 mm long, quadrangular, glabrous proximally becoming densely pubescent distally on inner and outer surfaces; claws filiform, sparsely villous; limbs linear-acuminate, 12-15 mm long, sparsely puberulous with white pubescence. Anthers 4, linear, sessile. Style slightly adaxially arcuate, 45-60 mm long, filiform. Pollen presenter linear-filiform, scarcely differentiated from style, 6-8 mm long. Ovary obconic, 3 mm long, covered with dense, straight tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales ovate acute, occasionally bilobed, 2 mm long. Flowering takes place from mid-August until October, with September being the peak of the season.