Protea speciosa L.

A low shrub, 0.5-1.2 m in height with several stiffly erect stems arising from a large, woody, subterranean rootstock. Stems stout, 5-10 mm in diam., softly puberulous initially, soon glabrous; stems usually simple, only occasionally branched. Leaves broadly obovate to narrowly oblanceolate, 90-160 mm long, 10-60 mm wide, heavily coriaceous, margins thickened and horny, apices obtuse to rounded, occasionally acute; puberulous initially, soon glabrous. Inflorescence oblong, 90-140 mm long, 60-80 mm wide. Involucral receptacle conic-depressed, 25 mm wide, 10 mm high. Involucral bracts tightly imbricate, 5-8 seriate, outer surface densely sericeous; outer series ovate obtuse, 15-20 mm long, 10 mm wide, margins thickly ciliate, apices crinite or occasionally slightly bearded, beards brown or white; inner series narrowly oblong to oblong-spathulate, 50-90 mm long, 5-20 mm wide with rounded heavily bearded apices; beards thick, 10-15 mm long, rich tawny brown. Perianth straight, 75-90 mm long, villous except for tube region; tube 10 mm long, glabrous, quadrangular, ribbed; claws slender, villous; limbs linear-subulate, free limb 15 mm long, subulate, the 3 limbs of the adaxial sheath 25 mm long, prolonged into linear-subulate sericeous awns, median awn markedly shorter than the two lateral awns. Anthers 4, linear-filiform, subsessile, the apices prolonged into a linear tongue. Style 65-75 mm long, slightly adaxially arcuate, ancipitous and puberulous proximally, becoming terete and glabrous distally. Pollen presenter straight, 8 mm long, slightly geniculate at junction with style. Ovary obconic, 3 mm long, covered with 15 mm long tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales ovate, 1 mm long. he flowering season spans several months, differing slightly according to locality, commencing as early as June in mild situations, or as late as January at high elevations. However, the peak of the season is reached in September and October.