Why is the South African cricket team referred to as Proteas?
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes. Proteas attracted the attention of botanists visiting the Cape (South Africa) in the 1600s. Many species were introduced to Europe in the 1700s, enjoying a unique popularlity at the time amongst botanists. Protea happens to be the national flower of South Africa and hence the team is often called by that name.
