Protea nubigena

Protea nubigena, commonly known as cloud sugarbush, is a very rare species of a flowering shrub belonging to the Protea genus. It is endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is found in the uKhahlamba Basalt Grassland within the Royal Natal National Park, near Mont-Aux-Sources, at an altitude of about 2250 m in well-drained, humus-rich soil on shaded slopes.

Description
The plant grows as an erect shrub which is up to 70 cm high, and blooms from March to April. It is a long-lived species, and survives fires by resprouting from underground boles or rootstocks. The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower; the wind-dispersed seeds are not stored on the plant and are released immediately after ripening. It is pollinated by birds.

Conservation
It is listed as 'critically endangered' on the SANBI red list, as the population of mature individual plants within the one known location are in decline, mostly due to poor fire management.