Plectranthus saccatus flowers

The flowers of the popular Plectranthus saccatus are among the largest of all the Plectranthus species. The two-lipped flowers grow in stem tip racemes on one side of the stem. The corolla tube is about 2 cm long, the upper lip at the corolla mouth becoming wider than 1 cm.

The specific name saccatus, meaning bag-like in Latin, refers to the shape of the corolla tube. The buds start off purple, the flowers opening paler to blue. Flowering happens in late summer.

Unrelated to the jacaranda trees of Central America that make Pretoria pretty, the flower resemblance has earned P. saccatus the common name of stoep jacaranda. Shade-loving and strongly flowering, the plant has rightly found its place on many a patio.

Cultivars of P. saccatus have proliferated, as is common with species that become common in gardens (Eliovson, 1984; www.plantzafrica.com).