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Melianthus major
Also called Honey Bush, Tall Cape Honey Flower, Cape Honeyflower, Giant Honeyflower, Large Honey Flower, Melianthus, Touch Me Not
Melianthus major is an evergreen suckering shrub from South Africa, grown for its large blue-green pinnate leaves and nectar-rich dark red flower spikes. It needs a sheltered, sunny spot and winter protection in cooler climates.
Melianthus major, the giant honey flower or kruidjie-roer-my-nie (Afrikaans for 'herb-touch-me-not'), is a species of flowering plant in the family Francoaceae. It is an evergreen suckering shrub, endemic to South Africa and naturalised in India, Australia and New Zealand. It grows to 2–3 m (7–10 ft) tall by 1–3 m (3–10 ft) wide, with pinnate blue-green leaves 30–50 cm (12–20 in) long, which have a distinctive musky odour. Dark red, nectar-laden flower spikes, 30–80 cm (12–31 in) in length, appear in spring, followed by green pods. All parts of the plants are poisonous.
The Latin binomial Melianthus major literally means "large honey flower". The plant is also sometimes called honeybush (along with many other plants).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Melianthus major 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.
