Indigenous Beauties : Kleinia fulgens

If you're looking for a small plant that makes a big difference, then the coral senecio is it. Its a hardy plant, ideal for a rockery, amongst grasses or planted alongside aloes. Its a plant to rival David Blaine - the endurance artist and illusionist. Its incredibly tough - plants can be left out of the ground for weeks, and when replanted, carry on as if nothing ever happened.

Kleinia fulgens peaking out of Aloe vanbalenii's legs

Added to its supernatural abilities the fact that it is a perfect combination of silvery-blue foliage and bright red thistle-like flowers, you know it will stand out in any garden or container.

Kleinia Fulgens in flower

The resilient succulent grows to about 500-600mm, and loves a hot dry spot in the garden. It flowers best when its been well fed and watered in summer and then left dormant in winter. The lipstick-red flowers look amazing flowering alongside Aloes in winter.

The name Kleinia comes from the German zoologist - Dr Klein, who first documented the plant, but klein also happens to be the Afrikaans word for small. Fulgens is the latin word for glittering. 'Little Glittering' is a perfect summary of this amazing plant.