About Protea subvestita N.E.Br.
Protea subvestita, commonly called the waterlily sugarbush, is a flowering shrub in the well-known genus Protea. This species is native to Lesotho and South Africa, where it grows in Mpumalanga on the Wakkerstroom escarpment, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape extending as far as Somerset East, and the Klein Swartberg. It is a large, erect shrub that can reach up to 5 meters in height. Flowering occurs primarily from January to March. The plant itself dies after a fire, but its seeds survive. The seeds are stored in a shell, released once they are ripe, and dispersed by wind. This species is unisexual, and pollination is carried out by birds. It grows in mountainous acid veld and fynbos at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,300 meters. In Afrikaans, it is called lippeblomsuikerbos, and its national plant number is 98.
