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Lobostemon belliformis
Beaut healthbush (Lobostemon belliformis) is a rare, critically endangered shrub from the Cape, known from a single locality, and grown mainly by specialist collectors. It needs warm, sunny, well-drained sandy soil and protection from frost.
Lobostemon belliformis, the Gouriqua lobostemon or beaut healthbush, is a critically endangered species in the forget-me-not family. It is known from a single locality on the Riversdale Plain in South Africa.
Because of how rare this species is, it is generally speaking, not as commercially available as other species of this genus. It grows best in well-drained sandy soil in warm, sunny areas, particularly on embankments and in rockeries. It requires protection from frost and is not cold-tolerant. When plants begin to lose leaves and die, pruning back about a third of the plant may allow for resprouting from the older wood, particularly if additional compost is provided at the same time.
Plants can be grown from cuttings or from seeds. Cuttings taken from the tips of branches do not root well and should instead be taken from the spindly side shoots re-sprouting from the older wood. Ideally they should be taken in Spring or Autumn. Care must be taken to ensure that they are not allowed to get too wet as they do rot easily. Fresh seeds collected when the old flower heads turn brownish-grey. They should be pretreated with hot water and smoke to simulate fire in order to aid germination.
This species is known from the Gourits River. In present times, it is a highly restricted species and is known from one small sandstone outcrop on the Riversdale Plain. Historically, it was also found on coastal limestone.
Blue Rocket Bugloss · Brush Healthbush · Ash Healthbush · Autumn Healthbush · Largeflower Healthbush · Infanta Healthbush · Rooiberg Healthbush · Common Healthbush · Common Eightday Curebush · Lobostemon glaber · Grey Healthbush · Mountain Healthbush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lobostemon belliformis 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.
