South Africa's birding community has been shocked by the revelation that some protea farmers have allegedly been poisoning Cape Sugarbirds - a "flagship" of the fynbos region that occurs only here.

The King protea became South Africa’s national flower in 1976 and, following the abolition of apartheid in the early 1990s, the emblem of the country’s newly desegregated national sports teams.

Protea flower grower Nico Thuynsma cultivates the blooms north of Johannesburg, 1,500 km (930 miles) ... ($15 million), according to the Cape Flora industry organisation.

Protea Plants Help Unlock Secrets Of Species 'Hotspots' Date: December 23, 2008 Source: Imperial College London Summary: New species of flowering plants called proteas are exploding onto the scene ...

The whole genome of the king protea (Protea cynaroides) has been sequenced, a first for an indigenous plant in the Cape Floral Kingdom. At about 1.18 gigabases (Gb) long there are more than 1.18 ...

On his farm two hours north of Johannesburg, Nico Thuynsma gestured towards thousands of orange, yellow and pink proteas in flower and thriving 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) from their natural ...

The diverse protea family has more than 350 species in South Africa. The King Protea is SA’s largest flower export with more than 10 million stems sent abroad last year, worth close to R275 million.