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Thunbergia atriplicifolia

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Water Needs

moderate

Thunbergia atriplicifolia
Perennial
Natal Primrose

30 - 40 cm

Size

Light Conditions

sun; semi-shade

Frost

moderate; hardy

Flowers

pale yellow; October – March; spring; summer; autumn

Garden Situation

sun; roof garden; slope; wildlife insects butterflies beetles

Habitat

grassland; coastal eastern cape; coastal kzn; bushveld

Region

thicket; highveld; subtropical east coast; bushveld savanna

Rain Season

summer

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Description

This delightful grassland plant forms a low mounding shrublet of up to 30 -40 cm high. Flowers are typical of this family, a pale buttery yellow in colour with a white or cream corolla covering the plant from October to March. It forms a tube of up to 2.5 cm which widens at the base, and the lobes (petals) are up to 5 cm across. Leaves are softly hairy, mid-green and oval in shape, up to 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. This grassland biome species flowers profusely after a fire. While this little groundcover does best in full sun and well-draining soils, I find it also thrives in slightly damp soils and light shade from mid-afternoon onwards. In wild grasslands, it is often lightly shaded by neighbouring species and grasses, and through the season will grow upwards and send out limbs in search of a sunny spot. Pop in the front of a mixed grassland bed or as an edging plant along a pathway.

Thunbergia atriplicifolia
Thunbergia atriplicifolia
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