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Petalidium coccineum
Also called Kaoko Petal Bush
Petalidium coccineum is a fast-growing, drought-tolerant shrub from the dry savannah of northwestern Namibia, grown for its red flowers and white bark. Give it full sun and well-drained soil, and water sparingly once established.
Petalidium coccineum is a species of a fast-growing shrub that bears red flowers and smooth, white bark. This shrub may grow up to 2.5 m in height. It is native to northwestern Namibia, particularly the dry savannah of Kaokoveld and Owamboland. Flowers occur in short racemes up to 40 mm long, borne in the leaf axils. Like other species in its genus, Petalidium coccineum bears hygroscopic fruit capsules which, when moist, release two flat seeds explosively.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Petalidium coccineum 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.
