Protea subvestita pink flowerhead

Protea subvestita also flowers pink, its head about cylindrical. The pollen presenters are pink in a dense multitude, the pinkest part of the head in picture and taller than the involucre.

These plants occur widespread in the Drakensberg, summer rainfall mountain slopes where the grassland is sour. Plants at higher altitude, such as those above the snowline, mostly retain hairiness where a shaggy cloak is useful against the cold. The plant has been called the waterlily sugarbush. Apart from flowerhead colouring it is hard to see the connection, although the habitat is damp.

The specific name subvestita is a Latin word meaning not completely clothed. This refers to the leaf pubescence or hairiness that tends to disappear with age. 

 This plant serves as larval food for the butterfly, Capys alphaeus (Manning, 2009; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Rebelo, 1995; iNaturalist; www.protea.worldonline.co.za).