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December 06, 2011

Melianthus Major

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Thank you to all my blog friends that helped identify my Monday Mystery plant.   You can always count on bloggers to help you out.
This plant is Melianthus Major in the honeybush family.  I Googled it and found out all sorts of information.   This plant is a native to South Africa where it gets wonderful red spiky blooms on it.  Our daughter has said that it has not bloomed for her yet.  I also found out it can be called the peanut butter plant, so I told her to go out and rub the leaves between her fingers and smell the leaves  :)  This plant can be grown from seed, but I'm not sure if it will grow in my Canadian garden zone of 5b.  Her garden is Canadian zone 8.
I definitely have plant envy!!

Thanks once again to those that gave me a positive identification. 


Thanks for visiting. Have a great day.
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4 thoughts from visitors:

  1. Glad to know what it is. Will look it up.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Hi Linda. Happy to have helped. Some people do not like the smell of the leaves but they are so stunning and when the leaves are crushed it smells like peanut butter, hence the name. There is also a smaller , less showy variety Melianthus Minor. Sunbirds love the nectar rich flowers and I adore the colour of the blooms. I hope your daughter's one blooms for her!

    Veronica

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  3. Please - be careful of handling the leaves! It is poisonous. Just let the eyes and the nose enjoy.

    BUT any one touching those attractive leaves is in for a surprise. With a strong unpleasant smell, it warns all that it is highly toxic. Although toxic when taken internally, it is used medicinally by the local people. They mostly use the leaves to make poultices and decoctions that are applied directly to wounds, bruises, backache and rheumatic joints. Cut back hard. Can survive frost.
    from http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm

    ReplyDelete

  4. http://elephantseyegarden.blogspot.com/2011/01/sunbirds-malachite-and-collared.html

    Sunbirds (our 'hummingbirds') on Melianthus flowers dripping dark nectar.

    ReplyDelete

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Linda, aka Crafty Gardener

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