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Protea burchellii

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iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Carina Lochner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carina Lochner

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Dewald du Plessis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Dewald du Plessis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Protea burchellii, also known as Burchell's sugarbush, is a flowering shrub in the genus Protea, which is endemic to the southwestern Cape Region of South Africa. The shrub is known by the vernacular name of blinksuikerbos in the Afrikaans language.

Description

A shrub. It grows 2 m tall. It can spread to 3 m across. It has a single main stem. The branches are 5-8 mm across. The leaves are narrow and 7-17 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. The flowering shoots are 9-11 cm long by 5-7 cm wide.

Edible Uses

The flower nectar is eaten fresh as a snack and can be used to make syrup.

Traditional Uses

The flower nectar is eaten as a snack and used for syrup.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, South Africa*, Southern Africa,

Synonyms

Protea pulchra Rycroft

References (2)

  • Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 93
  • Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179

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