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Karomia speciosa
Also called Mauve Chinese Hats, Wild Parasol Flower
Karomia speciosa is an African deciduous large shrub or bushy tree up to 7 m, and relocated to the family Lamiaceae from Verbenaceae. It is one of nine species in the genus Karomia, a genus containing species previously classified in Holmskioldia, and is closely related to Clerodendrum. The only remaining species in the genus is Holmskioldia sanguinea, occurring in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Karomia speciosa is found in the northern parts of South Africa, Eswatini and north into tropical Africa and Madagascar, growing in bush or wooded areas on hot, dry, rocky slopes and riverine thickets. Producing showy, mauve and purple flowers in profusion, the species is either single- or multi-stemmed, with pale, smooth grayish-brown bark. The softly pubescent leaves have coarsely toothed margins, are dark green above and a paler green below.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Karomia speciosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
