Protea aristata (Protea aristata)
Description
An upright shrub to 2.5m in height, up to 3m in diameter, with a single main stem up to 250mm in diameter - somewhat like a small pine tree in appearance. The leaves are upright, linear, 70 - 100mm in length, 2 - 3mm in width, terminating in a soft black acuminate point; glabrous, glaucous-green in colour. The flower-bearing stems are upright, smooth, 5 - 7mm in diameter, and carry the flower at the apex. The flowers are an inverted cone shape to slightly bell-shaped when fully opened. The involucral bracts are arranged in 7 to 9 series, with the outer series very broad and egg-shaped to almost rounded, nude, 10 - 15mm long, 10mm wide. Inner series long and quite broad, acuminate, 40 - 80mm in length, 20 - 25mm in width, densely hairy; innermost series spatulate, 100 - 120mm in length, 10 - 15mm in width, terminally hooked. The bracts vary in colour from almost black in the outer series to a clear carmine or crimson in the inner series; the dense hairs give a silvery appearance to the bracts, which are tipped with short white hairs along the margins at the apex.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Proteales
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Family: Proteaceae
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Genus: Protea
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