Protea aurea or the Long Bud Sugarbush is a large shrub or small tree with smooth bark that is sparsely branched but takes on an upright habit.
The grey-green foliage is ovate and heart-shaped at the base with the leaves being soft and velvety when young.
Cone-shaped buds open to a cream/pink/crimson flower that look somewhat like a shuttlecock with their long, erect styles standing clear of the bracts.
Colours range from white to cream to pink and occasionally carmine and they appear from summer to mid autumn at the tips of branches.
The subspecies 'potbergensis' flowers in early winter and they look particularly good when planted en-masse
These plants are quite drought tolerant but can be rather frost tender and they attract birds, butterflies and bees to your garden.
They also make good cut flowers - as do most Protea.