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protea

British  
/ ˈprəʊtɪə /

noun

  1. any shrub or small tree of the genus Protea, of tropical and southern Africa, having flowers with coloured bracts arranged in showy heads: family Proteaceae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of protea

C20: from New Latin, from Proteus , referring to the large number of different forms of the plant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Hartman loves growing crops, and his mother mentioned protea, an ancient type of flowering plant found in South Africa and Australia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

The spine of Church Street is graced with more than a dozen Cape Dutch buildings, some draped in bougainvillea and adorned with tropical plants — fynbos, protea or cactus flowers.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2019

Guinea fowl squawk around the sculpture garden, native flowers protea and strelitzia light up the flowerbeds, attracting colourful sugarbirds and sunbirds.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2018

At the lower altitudes pass lavender farms and protea fields and farmhouses serving great organic breakfasts on terraces overlooking the radiant rolling countryside.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 29, 2016

Esteban Trueba had been fighting to get one for four years, and they delivered it just when he did not even have a roof to protea it from inclement weather.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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