Mackaya bella | |
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Mackaya bella flowers are bilaterally symmetric | |
Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Acanthaceae |
Genus: | Mackaya |
Species: | M. bella
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Binomial name | |
Mackaya bella | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Asystasia bella (Harv.) Vesque |
Mackaya bella, called the forest bell bush, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa ( Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, and Northern Provinces) and Eswatini. [2]
Growing to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves, and trumpet-shaped pale lilac flowers veined in purple. The plant is not hardy below 10 °C (50 °F), so in temperate zones requires protection during the winter months. However, it may be placed outside in a sheltered spot in summer. It requires an alkaline or neutral soil. [3]
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3]