Streptocarpus floribundus

Streptocarpus floribundus is a stemless perennial. The basal rosette comprises coarse semi-erect, obovate leaves. They have conspicuous parallel net-veining curving forward from the central vein and toothed margins. The leaves become up to 25 cm long and 10 cm wide.

The flower is based on a five-lobed green calyx. It has a light blue to almost white, tubular corolla consisting of two lips and five lobes. The three lobes of the lower corolla lip have dark blue lines from the throat. There is a yellow line visible inside the floor of the tube. the flower is about 25 cm long. The specific name, floribundus is from Latin meaning flowering freely. About twenty flowers may be produced. The flowers probably appear in summer.

The fruits of Streptocarpus plants split open in corkscrew fashion, giving the genus the name (streptos means twisted, karpos means fruit in Greek).

The species has a very restricted distribution, an endemic of the Kranskop area in KwaZulu-Natal.

Its habitat is shaded scarp forest, the plants growing in dolerite soils. The species is considered to be vulnerable in its habitat early in the twenty first century. The photographed plant lives in protected conditions at Kirstenbosch (http://pza.sanbi.org; www.gesneriads.ca; http://redlist.sanbi.org).