Protea

Protea /ˈproʊtiːə/ is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: suikerbos).

Etymology

The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will, because they have such a wide variety of forms. Linnaeus's genus was formed by merging a number of genera previously published by Herman Boerhaave, although precisely which of Boerhaave's genera were included in Linnaeus's Protea varied with each of Linnaeus's publications.

Taxonomy

The Proteaceae family to which proteas belong is an ancient one among angiosperms. Evidence from pollen fossils suggest Proteaceae ancestors grew in Gondwana, in the Upper Cretaceous, 75-80 million years ago. Proteaceae is divided into two subfamilies: the Proteoideae, best represented in southern Africa, and the Grevilleoideae, concentrated in Australia and South America and the other smaller segments of Gondwana that are now part of eastern Asia. Africa shares only one genus with Madagascar, whereas South America and Australia share many common genera — this indicates they separated from Africa before they separated from each other.

Proteas (rugby union)

The Proteas was the representative side of the South African Rugby Football Federation, one of three racially segregated rugby union governing bodies in apartheid South Africa.

In December 1971 the Proteas embarked on a six-match tour of Britain and Holland – the first "Coloured" rugby team to tour abroad. Arriving on the 13th, they were met at the airport by protesters from anti-apartheid movements. The Proteas lost their first match 3–14 to Hertfordshire at Croxley Green on 16 December, after the home side had led 10–3 at half-time. A fight broke out during the game, which the press blamed on the Proteas' tactic of tackling at head height. The tour ended with a 33–3 loss to the United Hospitals on 2 January 1972 in London. Cuthbert (Charles) Loriston, the Proteas' team manager and SARFF's first president, explained that the purpose of the tour was " 'to test our strength' ". He said that the two wins, a draw, and three losses proved that " 'we have the technical know-how and enthusiasm to build strong opposition within the next five years' ". The wins came against county side Oxfordshire (33–5) and a London team (19–12). Loriston said that the next steps would be to play against white teams that tour South Africa, such as England's intended visit the next year; to play white South African teams; and then move towards integration of sports. He concluded that the Proteas had found, despite their initial scepticism, that they were treated " 'differently than...at home' ".