Plectranthus ecklonii

Plectranthus ecklonii, the large spur-flower, is a soft shrub. Its opposite leaves are ovate, large and soft with toothed margins and an acute tip.

Blue, bluish purple, mauve, pink or occasionally white flowers appear in terminal panicles in summer and autumn. Each flower has a straight, widening tube 2 cm long, ending in the two-lipped corolla.

P. ecklonii grows naturally in moist, semi-shaded areas along the coast of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and further north into Mozambique (www.plantzafrica.com).