Erect or prostrate suffrutices, shrubs or trees, up to 8 m. Leaves alternate or clustered near the ends of the branches simple, entire. Flowers in dense heads, surrounded by a conspicuous many-seriate involucre of bracts; bracts spirally arranged, very small in the outer series to as large as the flowers in the inner, sometimes brightly coloured. Style terminated by a linear pollen-presenter. Fruit an obconic achene, with the long straight brown hairs persistent. Derivation of name: after Proteus, son of Poseidon, who was able to take on many different forms; referring to the great variability of the genus. Worldwide: c. 100 species in the tropics and South Africa. Malawi: 14 taxa. Insects associated with this genus:
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| Species | FZ divisions | Content |
| afra Meisn. subsp. nyassae (Rendle) Chisumpa & Brummitt [End] | S | |
| angolensis Welw. var. angolensis | N | Description, Image |
| angolensis Welw. var. divaricata (Engl. & Gilg) Beard | N,C,S | Description, Image |
| angolensis Welw. var. trichanthera (Baker) Brummitt | N | Description, Image |
| gaguedi J.F. Gmel. | N,C,S | Description, Image |
| heckmanniana Engl. var. heckmanniana [NrEnd] | N | Description, Image |
| kibarensis Hauman subsp. cuspidata (Beard) Chisumpa & Brummitt [NrEnd] | N | |
| madiensis Oliv. subsp. madiensis | N,C,S | Description, Image |
| mafingensis (Chisumpa & Brummitt) Beard [NrEnd] | N | Description |
| petiolaris (Engl. ex Hiern) Baker & C.H. Wright subsp. elegans Chisumpa & Brummitt | N,C,S | Description, Image |
| petiolaris (Hiern) Baker subsp. petiolaris | N | Description, Image |
| rupestris R.E. Fr. | N,C | Description, Image |
| welwitschii Engl. | N,C,S | Description, Image |
| wentzeliana Engl. | Description, Image |