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Protea eximia
Also called Broad Leaf Sugarbush, Broad Leaved Protea, Broadleaf Sugarbush, Duchess Sugarbush, Eximia, Fine Erodendrum, Ray Flower Sugarbush
Protea eximia, the broad-leaved sugarbush, is a shrub from South Africa that may become a small tree. It occurs in mountain fynbos on mainly mildly acidic sandy soils; the species was very well known under its old name of Protea latifolia. The flowers have awns that are covered in purple-black velvety hairs, and are contained within a series of rings of involucral bracts that have the appearance of petals. The fruit is a densely hairy nut, many of which are inserted on a woody base. The flowers are borne terminally on long shoots, and have a tendency to become very untidy as they age.
Protea eximia is one of the easiest proteas to cultivate, and can be grown over a wide range of habitats. From seed, it will sprout within 3 weeks of planting and grows rapidly. It may begin to flower in the second year, but more generally from the third year. It may attain a height of ca. 1.5m within eight years, and is best planted in small close stands so that the plants can support one another. The leaves are susceptible to leaf miners.
This protea species was discovered by James Niven ca. 1805 while on a journey of discovery in the Swartberg, Cape Province, South Africa (Black Mountains). Within 5 years the species was under cultivation in the Cape, and was later exported for cultivation in Europe. Protea eximia is widely distributed in the far south of Africa along the coastal mountains, from Worcester in the West to Port Elizabeth in the east. The species is encountered in a wide variety of habitats, altitudes, and temperature regimes. This versatility has resulted in it being brought into bloom outside as far north as the coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Common Ground Sugarbush · Black Rim Sugarbush · Clasping Leaf Sugarbush · Angolan Protea · Kleinmond Sugarbush · Ladismith Sugarbush · Rough Leaf Sugarbush · Inyanga Sugarbush · Potberg Sugarbush · Shuttlecock sugarbush · Burchell's Sugarbush · Bishop Sugarbush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Protea eximia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
