Protea rank among the most ancient plants in the world. Dating from fossils over 300 million years old, they number approximately 1500 species and varieties. The name "protea" is derived from the scientific name Protea which in turn has legendary roots in Greek gods Proteus, a remarkable creature who was able to change himself into innumerable shapes. Such an appropriate name alludes to the extraordinary diversity and specialization of the protea family. Proteas are very different from ordinary flowers - each protea bloom is not a single flower but a tight mound of filamentous, modified flowers surrounded by brightly colored, petal-like leaves called bracts. The protea family (pronounced PRO-tee-uh not pro-TAY-uh), which includes true proteas, banksias, foliage proteas (leucadendrons), pincushions, and dryandras, is native to the Southern Hemisphere, primarily South Africa and Australia. Two groups are most notable: the fancy true proteas (genus Protea, over 100 species), which hail originally from the southernmost tip of Africa, and the banksias (genus Banksia, 73 species) from Australia. Almost all cultivated proteas closely resemble those in wild situations. This is a sharp contrast to many garden and nursery flowers (for example, roses, chrysanthemums), which have undergone many years of hybridization and improvement over their (often puny) originals.