Protea eximia

Protea eximia

Family: Proteaceae

Common names: Broad-leaf sugarbush, duchess protea, breëblaarsuikerbos

It is a large, upright shrub, 2-5 m tall with a single main trunk and a rather lanky, sparsely branched growth habit. The leaves are greyish green to purplish green and are coated with a whitish bloom that can be rubbed off (glaucous). The leaves are leathery and hairless, narrowly to broadly egg-shaped, 60-100 x 30-65 mm. The flower heads are large, 100-140 mm long, and up to 120 mm across when fully opened. The outer surfaces of the floral bracts are covered in fine silky hairs (sericeous) and the margins are fringed with hairs (ciliate). The outer series of floral bracts (those lower down on the flower head) are usually greenish or yellowish white or white flushed with pink, with a brown edge. The inner series of floral bracts are long and spoon-shaped, and usually deep pink, although color varies in wild populations from pink to orange-brown. When the flower head opens, there is a central dark purple ring in the center.

Sowing instructions: Protea eximia can be propagated by seed or cuttings. Sow seed in autumn to early summer, in well-drained soil, lightly covered with clean sand or fine-milled bark and kept moist but not wet. Germination occurs after 3 weeks. Treating the seed with a fungicide increases the number of surviving seedlings. Transplant into individual containers as soon as the first pair of true leaves have developed. Seedlings grow rapidly and the first flowers can be expected in their second or third year.

Locality: Ex Hort. Harvest: February 2025