A Protea glabra flowerhead bud is brown in several shades, from dull yellowish and chestnut to reddish brown. The imbricate bracts of the involucre have angular tips here, the bud ovoid and pointed.

Four or five rows of involucral bracts are present. Hairy patches occur more strongly on the surfaces of the inner row of bracts at the top than lower down. Upper stem leaves shield the bud to its tip in the early stages (Rourke, 1980; Manning, 2007; Coates Palgrave, 2002; iNaturalist).