Protea nubigena
Protea nubigena, or cloud sugarbush, is a very rare flowering shrub in the Protea family. It grows only in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the uKhahlamba Basalt Grassland of the Royal Natal National Park near Mont-aux-Sources, at about 2,250 meters above sea level, in well-drained, humus-rich soil on shaded slopes.
The plant is an erect shrub up to about 70 cm tall and flowers from March to April. It is long-lived and can regrow after fires from underground roots. Each flower has both male and female parts. Its wind-dispersed seeds are released once ripe and are not stored on the plant. Birds pollinate it.
Conservation status: Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1). The population of mature plants in its single known location is declining, mainly due to poor fire management.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:29 (CET).