South Africa, climate puts the protea, the national flower, at risk. “Here it is like the elephant or the lion”

On his farm two hours north of Johannesburg, Nico Thuynsma contemplates thousands of brightly colored proteas, orange, yellow and pink. This is where South Africa’s national flower grows, 1,500 kilometers from its natural habitat, located at the southern tip of Africa.

These flowers from the Proteaceae family "are all different," explains the 55-year-old farmer. But they are threatened, according to a report by the South African National Institute for Biodiversity (SANBI).

South Africa has more than 350 varieties: some are flamboyant, like those from a science fiction movie, others are more discreet like the "blushing bride" with its delicate pink buds. The most majestic is the "protee royale", a pink and white crown the size of a melon that can take up to four years to flower.

A symbol of resilience thanks to its roots adapted to poor soils and its ability to regenerate after fires, it is the national flower of South Africa, depicted on the coin, and gives its name to the country's cricket team and countless brands. The protea will be the logo of the South African presidency of the G20, whose summit is scheduled for November in Johannesburg.

With 10 million flowers exported last year, according to industry body Cape Flora, proteas are also at the heart of a 275-million-rand (13 million euro) market. But these iconic plants are under threat: according to SANBI, nearly half of South Africa's 353 proteas are already in danger of extinction due to pressure on their native habitat in the Cape mountains.

A report by the institute highlights in particular invasive agriculture, the proliferation of exotic species and increasingly destructive forest fires.

"People come to South Africa to see proteas," says Nigel Barker, a professor of plant science at the University of Pretoria. "They're the floral equivalent of the elephant or the lion."

Most are endemic or semi-endemic to the Cape Floral Region biome, the "fynbos" ("thin bush"), which is "one of the most extraordinary places in the world for plants in terms of diversity, density and number of endemic species", according to UNESCO. But climate projections for the coming decades predict "hotter and drier conditions", Barker warns. "In the future we will be dealing with a completely different type of vegetation, almost semi-desert in some places". "Many species, whose natural range is so restricted, will probably disappear in these scenarios", he fears. "The only solution will then be to grow them artificially ... in greenhouses or farms where irrigation is controlled".

Thuynsma's farm in the northern savannahs of the country is a case in point. Here, winters are dry and cold and summers are rainy: conditions that were not thought to be favorable for the growth of this flower native to the Mediterranean climate of the Cape. Yet for nearly 30 years, the farmer has grown more than 200 varieties of proteas, some of which have long since been abandoned by florists in their original habitat.

On a plot of land on her farm, where she is conducting her latest experiment, 36 varieties have been planted with just two litres of irrigation gel and no other support. “I hope to reveal the power of some of these flowers,” Thuynsma explains. “They grow in very difficult conditions in the Western Cape. They have grit.” She jokes: “I don’t think I have an answer to climate change. But I have a solution: plant proteas.” A few metres away, in a heated nursery, thousands of seedlings await their turn. “I love them, I protect them, I collect them,” Thuynsma smiles. “The protea is part of South Africa’s DNA.”