Proteus artichoke or artichoke protea ( lat. Protea cynaroides ) is a flowering plant of the Protea genus. This species is distinguished by the largest “flower” among the proteus genus. This species is also known as the giant protea, royal protea, royal protea , honey pot or royal sugar bush. The species is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the finbos regions.
| Protea artichoke |
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| Scientific classification |
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| The kingdom : | Green plants |
| Over Order : | Proteanae Takht. , 1967 |
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| International Scientific Name |
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Protea cynaroides L. |
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In 1975, the protea artichoke became the national flower of the Republic of South Africa [2] , the protea image adorns the South African coat of arms .
Content
Artichoke protea is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green glossy leaves. Leaves can be round or oblong-oval [3] . Most plants have a height of 1 meter when they ripen, but can vary from 0.35 to 2 meters in height, depending on the terrain and habitat. The “flowers” of the proteus are actually composite flower heads (called inflorescences) with a cluster of flowers in the center, surrounded by large colorful bracts with a diameter of 12 to 30 cm [3] . Large, vigorous plants produce from six to ten flower heads in a single season, although some exceptional plants can produce up to forty flower heads per plant. The color of the bracts varies from creamy white to deep crimson, but the most valuable soft pale pink bracts with a silvery sheen.
Protea artichoke grows in harsh climates with arid hot summers and rainy cold winters. Tough, leathery leaves help to survive in such conditions, which help to prevent excessive loss of moisture and a large taproot root system , which penetrates deep into the soil in order to reach the underground moisture. Like most other proteas, the artichoke protea has proteoid roots , roots with dense clusters of short side roots that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. This enhances the solubilization of nutrients, which allows you to absorb nutrients in low-nutrient, phosphorus-deficient soils finbosa .
The flowers are a source of food for nectar-eating birds, mainly for birds of the nectar and sugar honey suckers , including the purple- backed nectar ( Anthobaphes violacea ), Cinnyris chalybeus , malachite nectar ( Nectarinia famosa ) and Cape sugar honey . To reach nectar, the bird must plunge its beak into the inflorescence. In this case, the beak is smeared with pollen, thereby pollination occurs.
