Transvaal Sugarbush

I have not grown this plant. A member of the mountain protea group and a native plant of South Africa, Transvaal sugarbush (Protea rubrop...Read Moreilosa) grows along the Transvaal escarpment from Wolkberg to Lydenburg in sandstone and quartzites (south facing soils) at an elevation of 1400 - 2300m. Transvaal sugarbush leaves are large (length: 120 - 220mm, width: 30 - 65 mm) dark green, have a red midvein and are hairless. Protea rubropilosa bark is black and it flakes with young branches ebing bronze. Bloomtime is from September, October (mainly) and December (note: this is referring to the southern hemisphere so these months are spring through early summer). Transvaal sugarbush has involucral bracts that have brown thick, dense, velvety hairs on the outer surfaces with the inner surfaces being red. The perianth has shaggy white hairs apically. The fruit is a nutlet that bears hairs and is not released from the infructescence for 12 to 24 months after flowering. Fire kills the plants; however, the seeds survive.