Leonotus leonurus
Wild Dagga
Driving past Springside Nature Reserve, I spotted this Leonotus growing at the entrance. Its not as common as the Orange Wild Dagga but its just as beautiful.
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4 comments:
This and your photo of the orange flower remind me of some of our purple sages, Salvia Cevelandii (Cleveland or California blue sage) Although the purple sages don't have daisy-like flowers of leonotus, they have that same high-rise way of flowering on top of each other from a single stalk. Your climate must be a dry Mediterranean climate like mine in San Diego.
I took a look at the Salvia clevelandii - it does seem to have a similar look to it. I love the way these plants seem to have little fireworks of flowers above their leaves. It makes for quite a dramatic winter display! Our winter is quite a dry mediterranean-like climate, whereas summer gets quite wet and humid.
Ross - all we have is the orange Leonotis around here. That white is stunning. I'll check with my local wholesale grower (they grow LOTS of South African plants) and see if they can get a line on it. thanks!
As for Salvia clevelandii, it should be a sure bet for your area. It's native to Southern California, grows with little or no supplemental water once established, and has the most amazingly aromatic foliage. There's a variety called 'Winnifred Gilman' that is slightly more refined - always my first choice in a design.
There is also a peach coloured Leonotus, although its also not very common.
It always catches me off-guard to see how many South African plants are used elsewhere - and often they're plants that most South Africans shy away from (because they aren't exotic enough!)
I will look out for Salvia clevelandii - it sounds like it would do quite well here, though I'm not sure how easy it would be to get hold of?
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