CONSERVATION

Greek Gods, Fire & Snow: An introduction to Proteas

Jul 21, 2020  |  Written by Zoë Chapman Poulsen. Photos by Nigel Forshaw, Di Turner, Zoë Chapman Poulsen, Nick Helme and Brian Du Preez.

Meet the Proteas

With their often spectacular flowers, Proteas are some of South Africa’s most well-known plants. There are currently 112 known species that have been described following the Protea genus being described by Linnaeus in 1735. The genus is named after the Greek God Proteus, who was known for being able to change shape and form at will. Although at the time that Linnaeus named the genus he had only ever seen botanical illustrations of these plants, the name is highly apt given the extraordinary diversity of species in the genus Protea.

Above: Protea cynaroides in flower at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Photo: Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

Around 70 Protea species are found in the winter rainfall area of South Africa, with a further 19 species being found in southern Africa’s summer rainfall zones. Many species have found ways of adapting to fire, either through fire stimulated germination of seed to an ability to resprout after a fire has moved through the landscape. The genus Protea forms part of the Proteaceae family, which itself comprises around 1 700 known species. The majority of Proteaceae genera are found in the Southern Hemisphere, with the richest areas for this plant family being South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region and western Australia.

It is thought that the Proteaceae family first evolved on the supercontinent of Gondwanaland, and then continued to evolve into a diverse range of genera on separate landmasses after Gondwanaland started to break up. The fossil record even shows evidence of proteaceous plants once growing on the now frozen continent of Antarctica.

Proteas in Popular Culture

Perhaps the most famous Protea is the King Protea (Protea cynaroides) which is South Africa’s national flower. This woody shrub has blooms that look like artichokes and come in a variety of different colours and sizes. This species has one of the widest distributions of all Proteas, growing at a diverse range of altitudes from the Cederberg southwards to the Cape Peninsula and eastwards to the Makhanda area in the Eastern Cape.

Above: Protea repens in flower at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Photo: Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

As well as being South Africa’s national flower, the King Protea is also illustrated on South African birth certificates and passports, as well as on the five rand coin. South Africa’s cricket team, the Proteas, is also named after the genus. The Botanical Society of South Africa’s logo is inspired from the flowers of Protea repens, also known as the Common Sugarbush.

Proteas in the Sky

Above: Protea cryophila in habitat in the Cederberg. Photo: Nigel Forshaw. www.inaturalist.org

Many of South Africa’s Proteas are adapted to tolerate life in the extreme conditions found at high altitudes in the country’s many mountain ranges. The most well-known of these is Protea cryophila, also known as the Snow Protea. It grows on high mountain peaks above an altitude of 1 700m asl in the Cederberg in Western Altimontane Sandstone Fynbos. Protea cryophila was first named by Harry Bolus, who described it from material collected from the summit of Sneeukop in 1897.

The rodent pollinated Protea montana (Swartberg Sugarbush) is only found on the upper slopes of the Swartberg and Kammanasie mountains above 1 600m asl. The Drakensberg are also home to several Protea species, including Protea dracomontana which is widespread in montane grassland in the area. Sadly many Proteas that are high altitude specialists are vulnerable to extinction due to the climate change crisis. The nature of their high altitude habitats mean that the plants cannot migrate upslope in response to increasing temperatures and aridity.

Proteas on the Brink

Above: Protea odorata. Photo: Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

Sadly there are some members of this beautiful and charismatic family that are on the brink of extinction. There are no less than six Protea species and subspecies that are rated as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the Red List of South African Plants. Some have become highly threatened due to habitat loss from transformation for agriculture in lowland ecosystems. Examples of these include Protea mucronifolia and Protea odorata. The last surviving wild plant of Protea odorata has now sadly died and hope now lies in seeds from these plants scattered in the veld following a control burn.

Above: Protea roupelliae subsp. hamiltonii. Photo: Brian Du Preez. www.inaturalist.org

Many of these Critically Endangered Protea species and subspecies are threatened by a variety of different factors that combined are pushing them further towards the brink of extinction. Protea roupelliae subsp. hamiltonii is now only known from one surviving subpopulation in montane grassland in the Barberton area. It is threatened by water table depletion, afforestation for the timber industry and inappropriate fire regimes. Meanwhile in the Northern Cape, Protea namaquana is threatened by habitat transformation for agriculture in combination with ongoing severe drought.

Above: Protea namaquana. Photo: Nick Helme. www.inaturalist.org

Protea Pollinators

Members of the Protea genus are visited by a variety of different pollinators, to which the different blooms are adapted. Protea flowers can comprise a whole ecosystem in themselves, with as many as 2 000 insect visitors on one bloom. The larger scarab beetles are most easily spotted. There are also often thousands of mites (Proctolaelaps vandenbergi) that are transported between Protea plants by visiting nectivorous birds.

Above: Protea canaliculata. Photo: Di Turner. www.inaturalist.org

Many Protea are bird pollinated, being visited by species such as sunbirds and sugarbirds. Others are even pollinated by mammals, including rodents and other larger visitors. Research using movement triggered video cameras revealed Cape Grey Mongoose visiting Protea canaliculata and Protea recondita. The same study also recorded Large Spotted Genets visiting Protea pendula and Protea scabra. Rodent pollinated Proteas are easily identified by their low growing habit, yeasty smelling blooms and large quantities of nectar produced. Their blooms are often dull coloured and hidden inside the plant near the base to avoid theft of nectar by avian visitors.

Further Reading

Paterson-Jones, C. (2000) The Protea family in southern Africa, Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa.

Rebelo, A.G. (2000) Proteas of the Cape Peninsula, National Botanical Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.

Rebelo, A.G. (2001) Proteas: A field guide to the Proteas of southern Africa, Vlaeberg Press, Cape Town, South Africa.

Rourke, J.P. (1982) The Proteas of Southern Africa, Centaur Publishers, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Steenhuisen, S.L. Balmer, A. Zoeller, K. Kuhn, N. (2015) ‘Carnivorous mammals feed on nectar of Protea species in South Africa and likely contribute to their pollination’, African Journal of Ecology (Volume 53): pp. 602-605.

Even though it is no longer updated since the formal end of the Protea Atlas Project, the website remains a rich source of information on all things Proteaceae:

www.proteaatlas.org.za