The Proteaceae reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Proteaceae

The Proteaceae are a large family of flowering plants of about 80 genera and 1500 species, included in the order Proteales. They include the genera Protea, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea, Dryandra and Macadamia.

An ancient family, Proteaceae are a good example of a Gondwanan family, with representatives in South America, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand, all remnants of the supercontinent Gondwana.

The name Proteaceae is derived from the Greek God Proteus, the shapeshifting god, in reference to the extreme variability of leaf form in many genera in the family.

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