auriculata Protea eximia, the broad-leaved sugarbush, is a shrub from South Africa that may become a small tree.

It occurs in mountain fynbos[2] on mainly mildly acidic sandy soils;[3] the species was very well known under its old name of Protea latifolia.

The flowers have awns that are covered in purple-black velvety hairs, and are contained within a series of rings of involucral bracts that have the appearance of petals.

Protea eximia is widely distributed in the far south of Africa along the coastal mountains, from Worcester in the West to Port Elizabeth in the east.

Dense communities of these plants occur in the wild, to the extent that their density can make them virtually impenetrable.