Protea neriifolia flowering in winter with snow on the Jonkershoek mountains, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Protea neriifolia flowering in autumn on Pilaarkop in the Riviersonderend Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

The albino form of Protea neriifolia flowering in spring on the Jonkershoek mountains, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Protea neriifolia flowering in autumn in Garcias Pass, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

A male Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer), perched on and upended into a flowerhead of cultivated Protea neriifolia, a source of nectar, in the Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Peninsula, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Shrubs of Protea neriifolia and Leucadendron xanthoconus amongst restios in fynbos with a south-easter 'table-cloth' cloud pouring over the Kogelberg mountains, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]