What is the Protea?
Q: What is the Protea?
A: The Protea is a giant Protea plant that belongs to an ancient plant family called Proteaceae.
Q: What is the Proteaceae family?
A: The Proteaceae family is an ancient plant family that has already divided into two subfamilies before the break-up of the Gondwanaland continent about 140 million years ago.
Q: Where do both subfamilies of the Proteaceae family mainly occur?
A: Both subfamilies of the Proteaceae family mainly occur in the southern hemisphere.
Q: How many species of Proteaceae are there in southern Africa?
A: There are about 360 species of Proteaceae in southern Africa.
Q: What is the genus of Protea cynaroides?
A: The genus of Protea cynaroides is Protea, which has more than 92 species, subspecies and varieties.
Q: What are some other well-known genera of the Proteaceae family?
A: Some other well-known genera of the Proteaceae family are the Leucospermum, Leucadendron, and Serruria.
Q: Why was the genus Protea named after the Greek god Proteus?
A: The variety in plant size, habit, flower size and colour of the genus Protea was the reason it was named after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his shape at will.
