Protea cryophila in an early open stage

A budding flowerhead of Protea cryophila is tightly enveloped by narrow, white, woolly and densely overlapping involucral bracts. They curve inwards, fitting into a regular (imbricate) pattern like roof tiles. Inside these bracts a compact cone of thread-like individual florets or perianths are hidden until opening. The upper rows of bracts are progressively narrower but longer. On these plants the buds take about a year to mature. This year's open flowerheads coincide with next season’s nascent buds.

As the bunch of burgeoning perianths or individual florets develops, erect on the basal receptacle of the flowerhead, the bracts are forced open by the velvety white perianth tips inside. As the shallowly cup-shaped flowerhead matures it opens more widely. The bracts then veer away gradually from the wide central cone, exposing the pink inner surfaces of the bracts to full view, as in the photo. The head is about 13 cm long and 15 cm in diameter.

The lower sections of the perianth buds, still all closed here, have similar pink colouring below their velvety tips. The inside of the bowl formed by the spreading bracts may also be crimson or ivory cream in colour. People sometimes find the pale forms of P. cryophila flowerheads disappointing, compared to the colourful ones like these in picture (Rebelo, 1995; Rourke, 1980; Eliovson, 1973; iNaturalist; iSpot).