Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, June 9, 2014: Protea, South Africa

One of the things I most remember about driving about in South Africa were all the protea.  Flowering bushes everywhere!  And, of course, great floral displays of this interesting African plant in shops and hotels.  There are over 1400 species of protea worldwide, mostly found in Africa but some in South America and Australia as well.  In South Africa they are sometimes called “suikerbossie” (sugarbush).

Protea flowers have a primitive and variable appearance and are named after Proteus, the Greek god who could change his appearance when he wanted to.  There’s a huge and growing global market for these beautiful flowers.