Mimetes hottentoticus

Mimetes hottentoticus is a single-stemmed, erect plant, its leaves elliptic, silvery and silky. Leaf tips are toothed, a characteristic shared with some other Mimetes species as well as with several Leucospermum species. The Mimetes part of the name comes from a Greek word meaning to imitate, probably referring to the leaves resembling or imitating other Protea family plants.

The flowers are positioned among the upper leaves at the ends of branches. These leaves around the flowers are adapted, have a silvery pink colour and a modified, oblong shape. The styles are the spectacular feature of the flowers: They are bright red with some white just below the black anthers.

The plant in the photo, grown in the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden south of the Kogelberg, has so far overcome the difficulties of plants of the species in cultivation (iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).