Melianthus major
Kruidjie-roer-my-nie
Don’t-touch-me-plant
This is in our garden for two reasons. With the pink roses I want glaucous (blue-green) leaves. And I am trying to concentrate on indigenous/native/wild unless the exotic/alien/rare steals my heart, and overrides my principles! The second reason is wildlife friendly. And the wildlife is. Friendly. The flowers have nectar, black they say, and the weavers and white eyes and bulbuls and sunbirds are enjoying it. Little Cuss comes bustling over to see what you are up to, eating? What? Ah, just nectar, that’s OK. I don’t do nectar.
Melianthus means honey flower (meli=honey, and you know anthus=flower. Agapanthus=for love of a flower?) There is a major, which we have, taking over the garden metre by rambling metre. And a minor. And comosus which grows on the sand flats and has brighter, more orange flowers.
This is a plant we see growing in abundance along the streams – so people say in surprise – never seen that in a garden before! And it is a plant with such distinctively beautiful leaves, and flowers, wildlife friendly, (too) easy to grow and spread, low water needs, low maintenance (just needs to be tamed, it is a WILD plant).
Kruidjie-roer-my-nie. Don’t-touch-me-plant. Because the leaves have a strong, to me not unpleasant, medicinal smell. I do pick the leaves. They are OK in the house, and such a dramatic size and shape and colour!
And the flowers are one of those colours that are hard to nail down. There is dark red, going towards burgundy, with a suggestion of purple, and all overlaid with deep dark bitter chocolate. The birds love it! Chocolate dipped strawberries anyone?
I know it grows in
More info, as ever, here www.plantzafrica.com
7 comments:
Love this plant, but have always found it takes over!!
M. major is very popular here in Northern California, but prone to white fly. A friend - horticulturist and designer - propagated a little runt plant he found at a friend's nursery and it was introduced after he had grown it for 10 years. It's call M. m. 'Purple Haze,' with more beautiful, richly colored leaves and flower spikes. I grow one of his original plants!
At any rate, it is smaller than the species. So between its qualities of being more compact with deeper color, it's considered a rare and much desired cultivated variety. That said, white fly is still a big problem.
M. major grows quite tall and woody around here.
I actually purchased M. comosus from a specialty nursery when my garden was first being planted. It is very rare here - I know of no one else who has grown it. In my garden its form was very rangy.
I decided to remove it a few months ago. I devoted a post to it a while ago. Listed under 'rare plants.'
Alice
What a pretty leaf and a funny flower!
Alice, will you post a picture of "Purple Haze"?
EE:
A small image of 'Purple Haze' ran in
'Color in the Garden- Design That's Not for the Faint of Heart
- Bay Area Tendrils June 7.
Link:
http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/06/color-in-garden-design-thats-not-for.html
You'll recognize it! Click to enlarge. Alice
I've only seen this plant in a nursery, and the tag said it smelled like peanut butter. Do you notice that? I think it's very pretty, I'm always attracted to it's leaves. The flower really is unusual.
Um Catherine, our peanut butter certainly doesn't smell like this. It is not an unpleasant smell, but I wouldn't want to eat it. Don't! It is toxic and used, carefully, in traditional medicine here.
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