Protea cynaroides on a tall, skew stem

When fire has spared an old Protea cynaroides bush, it may display a proper woody stem to good height as on this unusual specimen. If more tall ones like this are encountered in the veld, those that confer species numbers on the National List of Indigenous Trees may consider including P. cynaroides on the List, as they have done for a large number of other South African Protea species.

The pale grey, smooth bark upon the sturdy stem suggests a mature age for this plant, which also is unusual for a plant that tends to flower itself into exhaustion within a few years (Manning, 2007; Rebelo, 1995; Rourke, 1980; iNaturalist).