Pavonia praemorsa

Pavonia praemorsa is well established internationally as a garden shrub. This perennial evergreen originates from the Eastern Cape where it grows inland as well as near the coast in sandy soil. The leaves are shiny, leathery and darker green on the upper surface than below. The leaf shape is broadly ovate, with shallow teeth on the margins that taper to a blunt tip. Stems are somewhat square and sometimes reddish.

There seem to be garden cultivars widely available with apricot, orange, yellow and more flower colour varieties. The old flower turns red when it closes and drops off. The plant is used to make informal hedges or screens. It is propagated by cuttings and has low water needs (www.smgrowers.com, Witkoppen Nursery; www.gardening.eu).