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The Protea FamilyThe protea family of plants (Proteaceae) is an ancient lineage confined essentially to the southern hemisphere. The ancestors of its species on earth now, were present before the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana into the separate land masses we now know as Africa, Australia, South America, India, Madagascar and Antarctica. Subsequently, in Africa and Australia, the family evolved an astonishing variety of forms including those that we see today. In Africa, the Cape was the centre of this evolutionary explosion which produced some of the most spectacularly lovely plants of this part of the world. Leucospermum tottum on Du Toit's Kloof Pass, Western Cape, South Africa
The King Protea, Protea cynaroides, in the Riviersonderend Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa
Orothamnus zeyheri, the Marsh Rose, in the Kogelberg Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa
Protea magnifica, in the Franschhoek Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa
Mimetes hottentoticus on Kogelberg Peak, Western Cape, South Africa
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