Macledium zeyheri, the doll’s protea, is a tufted perennial growing to heights around 40 cm. The basal leaves are paddle-shaped with short petioles. The blades are hairless on top, white-felted below.

The flowerheads consist only of disc florets. The silvery bracts are purple-tinted and spine-tipped. Flowerhead diameter is about 50 cm in diameter.

The species distribution is in the east and north of South Africa, from the Eastern Cape to Limpopo as well as in Gauteng and North West.

The habitat is rocky grassland and savanna. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; http://redlist.sanbi.org).