|genus = Protea
|species = laetans
|authority = L.E.Davidson
}}Protea laetans, the Blyde River protea or Blyde sugarbush, is a localized plant of the family Proteaceae. It was recognised as a species in 1970, and is endemic to the Blyde River Canyon of the Mpumalanga escarpment, South Africa.[1] The slender plants are up to 5m tall and flower from mid to late summer. The bracts of their closed flower heads are shiny and silvery in appearance.[1] They are most easily viewed near the F.H. Odendaal camp of the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. Laetans means joyous, i.e. Blyde.
References
1. ^1 {{cite book | last = Onderstall | first = Jo | title = Transvaal lowveld and escarpment | publisher = Botanical Society of South Africa | series = South African wild flower guide | volume = 4 | edition = | location = Cape Town | date = 1984 | page = 86 | doi = | isbn = 0-620-07750-6 }}
{{Commons|Protea laetans}}{{Taxonbar|from=Q5462892}}{{proteaceae-stub}} 4 : Protea|Endemic flora of South Africa|Vulnerable flora of Africa|Taxonomy articles created by Polbot