Protea L. (Proteaceae)

The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will, because Proteas have such a wide variety of forms.

69 of the 100 species of Protea occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land from Clanwilliam to Grahamstown, South Africa. The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape Flora is thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species.

This are the Proteas blooming in our garden: Protea aurea, Protea lanceolata, Protea mundii, Protea neriifolia, Protea punctata, Protea repens and Protea susannae.

Cucurbitaceae is a medium plant family (120 genera, 775 species), also known as gourd family, which includes crops like cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominantly distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds.

Our garden display the Cucurbit family in a variety of forms.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italiano.

Banksia is a genus of around 80 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting “cones” and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall.

The character most commonly associated with Banksia is the flower spike, an elongated inflorescence consisting of a woody axis covered in tightly-packed pairs of flowers attached at right angles. A single flower spike generally contains hundreds or even thousands of flowers; the most recorded is around 6000 on inflorescences of B. grandis.

Our collection of Banksia:

Banksia blechnifolia

Banksia canei

Banksia ericifolia

Banksia formosa

Banksia grandis

Banksia integrifolia

Banksia littoralis

Banksia marginata

Banksia oblongifolia

Banksia occidentalis

Banksia petiolaris

Banksia praemorsa

Banksia repens

Banksia robur

Banksia seminuda

Banksia serrata

Banksia speciosa

Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii

Banksia verticillata

Protea cynaroides L.
Proteaceae

The King Protea is the National Flower of South Africa.

The King Protea is a distinctive Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as Giant Protea, Honeypot or King Sugar Bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa of the fynbos region and it is adapted to survive the fires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire.

Protea cynaroides is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green, glossy leaves. Most plants are one metre in height when mature, but may vary according to locality and habitat from 0.35 m to 2 metres in height. The “flowers” of Protea cynaroides are actually flower heads with a collection of flowers in the centre, surrounded by large colourful bracts. The flowerheads vary in size, from about 120 mm to 300 mm in diameter.

The specific epithet cynaroides refers to the artichoke-like appearance of the flower-heads: the artichoke belongs to the genus Cynara.

This native of Oaxaca, Mexico has green leaves with whitish-yellow prickles. The surfaces of the leaves feel like a fine sandpaper. Dasylirion serratifolium grows around 1.8 metres in height and width and it’s suitable for a very hot, dry location where it will make a fantastic specimen. This plant has a very informal appearance and will make a fine addition to any desert garden collection, cold hardy till -10C°.

Photo of Matteo Paolo Tauriello at the Orto Botanico di Cagliari (Italia)

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italiano.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italiano.

Loropetalum chinense (R. Br.) D. Oliver
Hamamelidaceae