Hebenstretia dura

Hebenstretia dura, the cat’s tail or eastern shrubby slugwort is a soft perennial that reaches 60 cm in height. Many erect stems form a bushy clump from branching at the base.

The small, glossy green, ovate leaves al ternate densely on the stems. They have finely serrated margins and taper to pointed tips.

The stalkless white flowers with central orange spots grow in dense spikes and bloom  from end spring to after midautumn. The flowers have long narrow tubes slit down the front and four lobes on the single corolla lip.

The plant is found in the eastern parts of the country, from the Eastern Cape, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. 

The habitat is diverse summer rainfall grassland. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

H. dura was evaluated for horticultural merit in a study in Pennsylvania in the USA in 2002 with the following results: performance strengths were vigour, resistance to disease and pests, uniformity in size and foliage appearance. The plant’s ease of cultivation, unique blooms, glossy foliage and small stature were seen to make it ideal for intimate outdoor spaces where its sweet fragrance can be appreciated on warm evenings (Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; www.actahort.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).