Compact Protea cynaroides flowerhead buds highlight the artichoke resemblance recognised in the specific name of the plant; Cynara being an artichoke.
The colouring is not it: The powdery white to pinkish Protea bracts would be green in artichokes. But the rounded overall bud shape with pointed tip, comprised of densely overlapping bracts, all tapering to pointed tips like artfully laid tiles, leaves nothing to the imagination.
Positioned solitary at stem tips among long-stalked leaves that present them to the sun like hands delivering offerings, the buds seem to wait impassively for launching.
The artichoke resemblance stops before the leaves. The wavy, red-rimmed P. cynaroides leaves with entire margins look nothing the like leaves of artichokes.
People leave the eating of these magnificent objects to birds and insects (once the flowerhead is open). The artichoke as a dish is a different matter.