Protea scolymocephala

Protea scolymocephala
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Subfamily:	Proteoideae
Genus:	Protea
Species:	P. scolymocephala
Binomial name
Protea scolymocephala Reichard

Protea scolymocephala, the thistle protea, is a flowering plant from the Protea genus native to South Africa. It's a small erect shrub between 0.5 and 1.5 meters tall. The leaves are linear-spatulate curving upwards. The flowerhead is yellow-green and small, with 3.5 - 4.5 cm across. The species flowers between June and November. The fruits are retained.

Protea scolymocephala occupies sandy flats and coastal lowlands in the Western Cape from approximately the Olifants River in the north, through Cape Town to Hermanus in the east. The species is considered vulnerable and is threatened by both building and alien vegetation.^[1]

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