Plumbago auriculata Lam.
Cape leadwort, plumbago · blousyselbos (Afr.)
Reliable, fast scrambling shrub with sky-blue flowers for much of the year; a classic hedge plant.
What’s in the name: Plumbago: from the Latin for lead (plumbum); auriculata: "with little ears", for the lobes at the leaf base.
“the only way to have a friend is to be one.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series (1841), Project Gutenberg
Available from AVNPlants: see the availability list.
Family
Plumbaginaceae
Conservation status
Least Concern, SANBI Red List of South African Plants
Natural distribution & habitat
Southern and Eastern Cape into KwaZulu-Natal; also Gauteng and nearby Free State and North West, with an isolated occurrence in Mpumalanga.
Size & form
Scrambling shrub about 3 × 3 m in the wild; spreads by suckers.
Flowering
Mainly November to May.
Uses in landscaping
- Formal or informal hedge – takes pruning well
- Covering large areas in big gardens and landscapes
- Drought-resistant
Care notes
Any soil, best with compost. Slightly frost-tender but regrows quickly. Easiest from rooted suckers; also seed (spring) and cuttings.
Wildlife value
Butterflies visit; a larval food plant of the common blue butterfly.
Find out more
Facts checked against: SANBI PlantZAfrica species page 'Plumbago auriculata'; SANBI Red List of South African Plants, Plumbago auriculata Lam. (assessment 2005/06/30).