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Mackaya bella

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Mackaya bella
Mackaya bella flowers are bilaterally symmetric
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Mackaya
Species:
M. bella
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]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Thes. Cap. 1: 8 (1859)
  2. ^ a b "Mackaya bella Harv". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Mackaya bella forest bell bush". The Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 10 November 2020.