Stachys aethiopica or woundwort

Stachys aethiopica bears white, mauve or pink tubular flowers in erect, spike-like whorls on the upper branches of the scrambling to trailing shrub.

About half the corolla tubes in picture are covered by the green and partly purple calyces, ending in narrow, spiky-like lobes. Small brown anthers are visible where the upper lips of the corollas bend upwards.

The plant, sometimes commonly called African stachys, has several common names in Afrikaans, including kleinkattekruie (small cats herb), probably on account of the plant’s particular aromatic feature.

This is a popular and rewarding garden plant, also featuring in traditional medicine, which caused it to be called woundwort (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).