AUSFLORA PACIFIC

Are Protea Native to Australia?

By Linda Sijpkes, Ausflora Pacific

The short answer to this question is… no. But where does the myth that they are native come from?

Plants have names just like we do, all plants are given a botanical name consisting of a first name known as Genus (plural Genera) and a second name known as species, these are usually Latin names and are italicised when written with only the first letter of the genus capitalised.

Genera are then grouped by the features they share these groups are known as a plant family.

The system of naming plants this way has been in use since the 1700’s when it was developed by Carl Linnaeus a famous botanist of the time. The genus Protea is part of a large plant family mainly found in the Southern hemisphere called the Proteaceae family which contains approximately 80 Genera and 1600 species.

The largest range of Proteaceae are found in Australia and South Africa, however they can also be found in Madagascar, South East Asia, New Guinea and New Zealand.

It is believed that the Proteaceae family diversified over 90 million years ago on the super continent of Gondwana.

Named after the Greek god Proteus who took on many forms, The Proteaceae family is an incredibly diverse family of plants ranging from shrubs to large trees, small flowers to large flowers and fine foliage to large leaf.

All Proteaceae plants have a proteoid root system, which is a specialised root system that forms clusters of roots usually

Isopogon species, Australian Native

Lambertia formosa, Australian Native Protea scolymocephla, SouthAfrican Native

Protea cynaroides aka King Protea, SouthAfrican Native which symbolises diversity and courage and is its countries National Flower Hakea sericea, Australian Native

Telopea speciosissima aka NSWWaratah and the Floral Emblem of New SouthWales,Australian Native

Grevillea species, Australian Native near the surface of the soil to better uptake nutrients in nutrient deficient soils.

With over 800 species native to Australia, some of the best known Australian Proteaceae genera are Hakea, Banksia, Grevillea, Telopea (aka Waratah), Macadamia, Isopogon, Adenanthus (aka Woolly Bush), Dryandra, Lambertia and Persoonia to name just a few.

Popular Proteaceae genera that are native to South Africa include genera such as Protea, Leucadendron (aka Conebush), Leucospermum (aka Pincushion Protea), Aulax (aka Featherbush) and Serruria.

Proteaceae genera native to South Africa are widely cultivated in Australia for Floristry and Gardens, as they require similar growing conditions to their Australian relatives, they are often grown alongside them and mistakenly referred to as native.

The genus Protea is also incredibly diverse, species such as P.nana and P.scolymocephla have small flowers around 4cm in diameter whilst possibly the most famous of the Proteas, Protea cynaroides commonly known as King Protea has flowers up to 30cm in diameter and is the National Flower of its home, South Africa.

In many instances all plants of the Proteaceae family are referred to as Protea, however Protea is a genus of its own that has over 90 species and many cultivars.

If you want to know the true identity of your plants always ask for its botanical name.