Protea subvestita white flowerhead

The flowerhead of Protea subvestita is cone-shaped, narrow at the top at first, becoming oblong for a while, to open fully into the cone-shape inverted, wide at the top when mature. The flowerhead becomes up to 7 cm in length, 4 cm across.

The involucral bracts are creamy white, carmine or pink, growing in five or six rows. The outer bracts are ovate with pointed tips. The inner bracts curve outwards as can be seen in the photo; this tendency sometimes becomes more exaggerated with the tips turning right down. The bract margins are fringed with silky white hairs. Flowerheads grow solitary at stem tips.

Flowering happens mainly from midsummer to early autumn, but may to a lesser extent carry on into winter. The fruit is a hairy nut, retained for long on the plant (Manning, 2009; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Rebelo, 1995; Rourke, 1980; iNaturalist).