The King Protea is the largest of all Proteas and extremely prolific in the Western Cape - which I guess may have contributed to it being designated as the country's national flower. Isn't it just a work of art?
An interesting fact is that the King Protea isn't only grown for export in South Africa, but also in New Zealand, Australia and even Hawaii! If you're interested in reading more about Proteas - or in fact about South African flora in general - visit the PlantZAfrica website. The site's pretty dated, but if you'd excuse it's '90s design there's plenty of information that you may find very useful. :)