Protea subulifolia (salisb. ex Knight) Rourke

A low shrublet 300-700 mm in height, up to 500 mm in diam., with several erect often virgate stems arising from a woody (but non-persistent) rootstock. Stems glabrous, sparsely branched, 1-3 mm in diam. Leaves very variable, acicular terete and minutely canaliculate on upper surface to ericoid and semiterete, 5-85 mm long, 0.5-2.0 mm wide, glabrous, apices acute to mucronate. Inflorescences axillary, prominently pedunculate, peduncles 10-25 mm long; globose in bud becoming shallowly crateriform on opening, 45-60 mm in diam. Involucral receptacle broadly conic, 12-15 mm in diam., 5-10 mm high. Involucral bracts 5-6 seriate; outer series very tightly imbricate, ovate-obtuse, 5-10 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, softly puberulous to glabrescent; inner series very widely splayed, oblong spathulate to very broadly spathulate with rounded apices, 25-35 mm long, 8-16 mm wide, incurved, softly papyraceous, outer surface densely ferruginously velutinous. Perianth 20-25 mm long, straight, but limbs strongly incurved; tube inflated, quadrangular, ridged, 10 mm long, glabrous to minutely puberulous; claws much reduced and abruptly narrowed distally; limbs elliptic, 3-4 mm long, sharply adaxially curved, usually glabrous but apices occasionally setose. Style glabrous, 25-30 mm long, straight, ancipitous, broadened proximally, becoming strongly adaxially curved and terete distally. Pollen presenter linear-obtuse, 4 mm long. Ovary obconic, 2-3 mm long, covered with 10-15 mm 'ong tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales subulate-filiform, 1 mm long. Flowering commences in July at low elevations and in September at higher levels, often persisting until early October.