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Protea

This article is about the plant genus. For further uses, seeProtea (disambiguation).

Protea(/ˈproʊtiːə/[2]) is agenusof South Africanflowering plants,also calledsugarbushes(Afrikaans:suikerbos). It is thetype genusof theProteaceaefamily.[3]

Protea
The original South African "suikerbossie"(sugarbush)Protea repens
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Proteoideae
Tribe: Proteeae
Genus: Protea
L.(1771), nom. cons.
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
  • ChrysodendronVaill. ex Meisn. (1856)
  • ErodendrumSalisb. (1807)
  • LeucadendronL. (1753), nom. rej.
  • PleurantheSalisb. (1809)
  • ScolymocephalusKuntze (1891)
  • SerrariaAdans. (1763), nom. superfl.

About 92% of the species occur only in theCape Floristic Region,a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land fromClanwilliamtoGrahamstown,South Africa. Most protea species are found south of theLimpopo River.Protea madiensisgrows inAfromontaneenclaves across tropical Africa, fromGuineatoSudan,Mozambique,andAngola.[4]Protea afraranges from the Cape region toUgandaandKenya,including in thechaparralzone ofMount Kenya National Park.The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape flora are thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape, where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species.

Etymology

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The genusProteawas named in 1735 byCarl Linnaeuswhen he was examining male and female plants of a species now known asLeucadendron argenteumwhich are very different from each other; he misunderstood them to be two different species, and he compared those forms to the ability of Greek godProteuswho could change his form at will.[5][6]Linnaeus's genus was formed by merging several genera previously published byHerman Boerhaave,although precisely which of Boerhaave's genera were included in Linnaeus'sProteavaried with each of Linnaeus's publications.

Taxonomy

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Protea eximiaflower.

The family Proteaceae to whichProteaspecies belong is an ancient one amongangiosperms.Evidence from pollen fossils suggests Proteaceae ancestors grew inGondwana,in theUpper Cretaceous,75–80 million years ago.[7]The Proteaceae are divided into two subfamilies: theProteoideae,best represented in southern Africa, and theGrevilleoideae,concentrated in Australia and South America and the other smaller segments of Gondwana that are now part of eastern Asia. Africa shares only one genus withMadagascar,whereas South America and Australia share many common genera – this indicates they separated from Africa before they separated from each other.

Description

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Proteas usually flower during spring. Protea flowers have largeheadsmade of small florets packed on a woodyreceptacle,each floret is reddish or pinkish in color and measures between 28.4 to 53.8 millimeters. Thecarpelin the flower's center is cream colored.[8]The ovary is protected by the receptacle, and thus is not seen when looking at the flower, but the anthers are present at the top of the flower, which can then easily transfer the pollen to the vectors.

Proteas are pollinated by birds, insects, and wind. All the florets open big enough for small and medium beetles to land and feed on their nectar before flying to other heads pollinating them in the process.[8]Some protea flower species, like theking proteaflower, areself-pollinatingflowers. Other protea species, however, such asP. cordata,P. decurrens,andP. scabraareself-incompatible,and thus rely on cross-pollination for successive seed sets. SomeProteaspecies exhibit both self-pollination and cross-pollination as a method of reproduction. Cross-pollination is preferred, though, as a method of reproduction because it provides genetic diversity in the population. When cultivating proteas, breeders use hand pollination as a controlled method to transfer pollen from one flower to another.

Genetics

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The common Proteaceae plants, e.g.Protea,Leucospermum,andLeucadendronare diploid organisms, thus they can freely hybridize with closely related species to form new cultivars. Unusually, not all the genera within the family Proteaceae can hybridize freely; for example,Leucadendronspecies cannot be crossed withLeucospermumspecies because of the difference in their haploid chromosome number (13 and 12, respectively). Thisgenetic incompatibilityresults in pollinated flowers that yield either no fruit, or seedless fruit, as the resulting plant embryos, from the incompatible pollen and ovum, fail to develop.

Botanical history

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Proteas attracted the attention of botanists visiting theCape of Good Hopein the 17th century. Many species were introduced to Europe in the 18th century, enjoying a unique popularity at the time amongst botanists.

Cultivation

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Proteas are currently cultivated in over 20 countries. Cultivation is restricted to Mediterranean and subtropical climates.[9]Three categories of traits have to be considered before developing a new cultivar. The yield or production capacity of the cultivar must be considered. The ease of handling and packaging of the cut stems and the last category is to consider the perceived market value of the cultivar.[10]The cultivation of aProteaplant is time-consuming, so good planning when developing the cross combinations and goals are of great importance of the breeding programme.[10]

Classification

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Within the huge familyProteaceae,they are a member of the subfamily Proteoideae, which has Southern African and Australian members.

Species

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Protea afra,the common protea
Main article:List of Protea species

(listed by section: a 'section' has a name in two parts, consisting of the genus name and an epithet).

Dried head ofP. madiensisshedding mature fruit

References

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  1. ^ProteaL.]Plants of the World Online.Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  2. ^"Protea".Oxford English Dictionary(Online ed.).Oxford University Press.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)
    Sunset Western Garden Book,1995:606–607
  3. ^"ProteaL. "Plants of the World Online.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2023.Retrieved25 September2023.
  4. ^Protea madiensisOliv.Plants of the World Online.Retrieved 27 September 2023].
  5. ^Ben-Jaacov, Jaacov; Silber, Avner (2006). "Leucadendron: A Major Proteaceous Crop". In Janick, Jules (ed.).Horticultural Reviews.Vol. 32. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 169.ISBN978-0-471-73216-7.
  6. ^Rourke, John P. (1982).The Proteas of Southern Africa.Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa: Centaur Publishing. pp. 44–46.ISBN0908379102.
  7. ^Dettmann, Mary E.; Jarzen, David M. (April 1991). "Pollen evidence for Late Cretaceous differentiation of Proteaceae in southern polar forests".Canadian Journal of Botany.69(4): 901–906.doi:10.1139/b91-116.
  8. ^abSteenhuisen, Sandy-Lynn; Johnson, Steven D. (May 2012)."Evidence for beetle pollination in the African grassland sugarbushes (Protea:Proteaceae) ".Plant Systematics and Evolution.298(5): 857–869.Bibcode:2012PSyEv.298..857S.doi:10.1007/s00606-012-0589-5.
  9. ^Malan, Gerhard (2012).Protea cultivation from concept to carton.Stellenbosche, Western Cape, South Africa: Sun Media. p. 21.ISBN978-0-620-55300-1.
  10. ^abLittlejohn, G. M. (2002).Breeding Technology for Protea.Fynbos Research. p. 1.
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