Protea parvula, also known as the dainty sugarbush,[1] [2] [3] or kleinsuikerbos in Afrikaans, is a small flowering shrub belonging to the genus Protea.[1] [3]
It was first described in 1958 from Mpumalanga (then part of the former Transvaal province) by John Stanley Beard.
It is a low-growing, creeping, shrubby groundcover, growing only up to 16cm in height.[3]
Sources differ on the ability of this species to survive wildfires. According to one source it is long-lived, with plants surviving over a century, and can regrow after fire from an underground bole or rootstock,[1] another source states the plant is killed by fire.[3] The seeds are released by the plant as soon as the woody fruit is ripe, from April to July, and are dispersed by the wind.[1] [3] The seeds are fire-proof, and simply lie on the ground until germination.[3]
Protea parvula flowers in the summer,[2] from December to March. The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower.[3] The flowers are pollinated by birds.[1] [3]
Protea parvula is found on the slopes of the Drakensberg Mountains, from Mariepskop,[1] [3] through Mpumalanga and eSwatini,[1] [3] [4] to Vryheid in central northern KwaZulu-Natal.[1] [3] It grows in rocky, exposed grassland on acid soils, at elevations of 1,300 to 2,150 meters.[1] [3]
In 1996 it was assessed as "not threatened" in the Red data list of southern African plants, but in 2009 it was re-assessed as "near threatened", due to an estimated population reduction of 20-30%, caused by a loss of 28% of its natural habitat over the past century. It is primarily threatened by the planting of forests of non-native pine trees (afforestation) as well as mining for soapstone.[1] It may, however, be locally common.[3]
The species is protected in the Malolotja Nature Reserve in eSwatini.[2]