Protea dracomontana
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| Protea dracomontana | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Protea |
| Species: | P. dracomontana |
| Binomial name | |
| Protea dracomontana | |
| Synonyms[3][4] | |
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Protea dracomontana, the Nyanga protea[3] or the Drakensberg sugarbush,[5][6] is a flowering plant that belongs within the genus Protea. The plant is found in the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and the escarpment of the Free State,[7] as well as eastern Zimbabwe.[3][7] In Zimbabwe this species is only known from a disjunct subpopulation confined to the summit of Mount Nyangani.[4]
Another vernacular name for this plant is Drakensberg dwarf sugarbush. In Afrikaans it is known as the Drakensbergse dwergsuikerbos.[5]
Description
It is a shrub which has numerous stems and grows up to 1.5 metres high,[7] often less.[3][4] The plant blooms mainly from January to March.[6][7] This species is monoecious with both sexes in each flower.[7] The flowers are grouped together in a tight-packed inflorescence ('flower-head'), surrounded by petal-looking bracts, which is 6–9 cm in diameter,[4] and is coloured creamy-white, often tinged with pink at the tips of the innermost bracts and the flowers.[3][4]
The stems are reddish-brown to grey, glabrous and smooth to the touch.[4]
It is extremely similar to Protea afra subsp. gazensis in Zimbabwe, which occurs contemptuously at lower altitudes than P. dracomontana, and P. afra subsp. afra in South Africa, for which the same applies. It is primarily distinguished from these taxa by having shorter inflorescences and a short, squat, bushy habitus. Rourke (1980) states possible hybrids between the two may exist.[4]