Protea scolymocephala, the thistle protea, is a flowering plant from the Protea

Protea

Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...

genus native to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It's a small erect shrub between 0,5 and 1,5 meters tall. The leaves are linear-spatulate curving upwards. The flowerhead is yellow-green and small, with 3,5 - 4,5 cm across. The species flowers between June and November. The fruits are retained.

Protea scolymocephala occupies sandy flats and coastal lowlands in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 from approximately the Olifants River in the north, through Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 to Hermanus

Hermanus

Hermanus is a town with 49,000 inhabitants on the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is famous as a place from which to watch Southern Right whales, during the southern winter and spring and is a popular retirement town...

in the east. The species is considered vulnerable and is threatened by both building and alien vegetation.