Shrub to about 3 m tall. Leaves oblong to oblanceolate-elliptic, 8-16 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, leathery with hardened margins, unpleasant-smelling when crushed. Flower head 8-10 cm long, 7-11 cm wide; spring to summer. Bracts in several series, the inner ones spoon-shaped, pinkish brown, sticky.

S Africa (Cape).

P. burchellii Stapf is very similar but with bracts brown to greenish or pink, the tips with black, white or mixed hair.

Source: Spencer, R.; Molyneux, B.; Mathews, D. (2002). Proteaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.