Protea eximia

Protea eximia, the broad-leaved protea or broad-leaved sugarbush, is a large shrub reaching heights around 2 m, sometimes a small tree of up to 5 m (SA Tree List No. 88.3). That is if no fire finds it over the few decades of its lifetime.

Single-stemmed, it does not resprout. The stem is brownish grey, sometimes corky or flaky and covered with a bloom when mature. Young stems are hairy. Spaced longer stems sometimes extend solitary above the dense, unevenly branched, untidy growth of the plant overall.

The species distribution is along the southerly mountain ranges of the Western Cape from Caledon through the Langeberge and the Swartberge north of the Little Karoo to the mountains at Van Stadens in the Eastern Cape. The photo was taken in the Garcia Pass near Riversdale.

The habitat is fynbos on sandstone slopes, ranging from semi-arid, montane parts to moister regions. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Rebelo, 1995; Rourke, 1980; Eliovson, 1973; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).