King Protea - a beautiful flower

Afrikaans name: Grootsuikerkan

Photo © Patrik Stedrak - Fotolia.com

Protea cynaroides

The King Protea is the national flower of South Africa. It has various other names including Giant Protea and King Sugar Bush.

This is a popular plant in the gardening world and numerous colour varieties have been cultivated. It is a popular cut flower and has a long life in the vase.

The King Protea is a shrub that grows to a height of around 1 metre, sometimes up to 2 metres. The flowers are up to 30 cm in diameter, making them the biggest of the Protea flowers, and a bush may get up to 10 flowers during the flowering season. The flowers are often frequented by sunbirds and sugarbirds. Insects, such as bees, are also attracted to them.

These plants are adapted to cope with hot dry summers and cold wet winters.

References and further reading

Wildlife of the Cape Peninsula - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2001 - Page: 109

The Flowering Plants of the Tsitsikama Forest and Coastal National Park - Author: M. Courtenay-Latimer & G. Smith - Published: 1967 - Page: 27

Wild Flowers of Table Mountain - Author: WPU Jackson - Published: 1977 - Page: 77

Sasol First Field Guide to Wild Flowers of Southern Africa - Author: John Manning - Published: 1999 - Page: 47

Sasol Proteas - A field guide to the Proteas of Southern Africa - Author: Tony Rebelo - Published: 1995 - Page: 41

SA Wild Flower Guide No 5 - Stellenbosch to Hermanus - 2nd edition - Author: Anne Bean & Amida Johns - Published: 2005 - Page: 156

SA Wild Flower Guide No 12 - Table Mountain National Park - Author: T Trinder-Smith, M Maytham Kidd & F Anderson - Published: 2006 - Page: 118

Quick ID Guide: Wild Flowers of the Cape Peninsula - 3rd edition - Author: H Clarke & C Merry - Published: 2019 - Page: 66

Plants of the Baviaanskloof - Author: D Euston-Brown & M Kruger - Published: 2023 - Page: 434

Proteas for Pleasure - 3rd edition - Author: Sima Eliovson - Published: 1973 - Page: 64

Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa - Author: John Manning - Published: 2009 - Page: 170

Illustrated Guide to the Game Parks and Nature Reserves of SA - 2nd edn - Author: Readers Digest - Published: 1991 - Page: 392

Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of South Africa (updated edition) - Author: John Manning - Published: 2019 - Page: 170

Field Guide to Fynbos - 1st edition - Author: John Manning - Published: 2008 - Page: 250

Discovering Wild Flowers in Southern Africa - 2nd edition - Author: Sima Eliovson - Published: 1969 - Page: 50

Ecoguide - Fynbos - Author: Colin Paterson-Jones and John Manning - Published: 2007 - Page: 141

Eastern Cape Veld Flowers - 2nd edition - Author: Eily Gledhill - Published: 1981 - Page: 106

Common Wild Flowers of Table Mountain & Silvermine - Author: Hugh Clarke, Bruce Mackenzie & Corinne Merry - Published: 2013 - Page: 51

For more info: SANBI

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List of South African Plants