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Plectranthus ambiguus
Plectranthus ambiguus is a shrubby subtropical species from South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, grown for its pinkish purple flowers. Good drainage and a warm, sheltered spot suit it best.
Plectranthus ambiguus, the pincushion spurflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Its cultivar 'Manguzuku' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Flowers are pinkish purple with faint purple lines on the upper edge.
Plectranthus ambiguus flowers from January to March. Among the Plectranthus species, Plectranthus ambiguus is considered a longer-tubed species with an average tube length of 28.1 mm. It is pollinated by a number of insects, such as species of Stenobasipteron (tangle-veined flies) and bees such as Allodape pernix.
Plectranthus ambiguus, known as iboza in Zulu, has been used by the Zulu people as a medicinal plant for a number of conditions, including skin sores, chest complaints, tonsillitis, fever, cough, and eye problems. Reports from the 1950s noted its use in treating respiratory ailments - the leaves are crushed and mixed with hot water to make a tonic for colds.
Speckled spur flower · Ecklon Spurflower · Forest Spurflower · Plectranthus hadiensis · Brazilian Coleus · Cliff Spurflower · Stoep Jacaranda · Dwarf Spurflower · Whorled plectranthus · Spurflowers
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Plectranthus ambiguus 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.
