Kei Beacon Tree (Kei bottlebrush) is a shrub or small tree from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where it grows in rocky hills and valleys. It is mostly grown in gardens with sun and good drainage, since it comes from a dry, subtropical region.
Family
Francoaceae (Franco family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings once established.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or rocky soil; avoid heavy waterlogged clay.
Temperature
Comfortable in mild subtropical conditions; protect from hard frost.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
E. Cape Prov.
Climate
subtropical
About
Greyia flanaganii, commonly known as the Kei bottlebrush, is a species of plant in the Francoaceae family. Greyia flanaganii is one of the related species of the taxonomically isolated and endemic southern African family, the Greyiaceae. Greyia flanaganii is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is named after Henry George Flanagan, a South African farmer and botanist from Komga, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Where it grows
It is present in the hills and rocky valleys around Grahamstown, but may be found from Queenstown to Komga in the Eastern Cape. It is indicated as rare on the SANBI red data list, but is not threatened by extinction. They are usually found growing as individuals, and are distributed in about 10 known subpopulations.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Greyia flanaganii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.