.png) Eriocephalus africanus
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- common names: wild rosemary, kapokbos - the flowering heads turn into a mass of soft downy white which look from a distance like snow (kapok) against a mountain slope of its native home
- flowering season: early winter into summer
- height: 3 feet
- Light requirements: sun
- Soil requirements: average garden soil that is well drained
- Water requirments: water a young plant regularly until it is established, after that it is very drought tolerant
- Growth habit: twiggy and bushy
- How to propagate: cuttings, midspring to early summer
- Leaf type: small fingered leaves of green that are lightly hairy
- Ways to use it: fragrant at all seasons and colorful for much of the year, this is beloved by bees when flowering; the dried leaves make a lovely incense
This evergreen shrub is commonly known as wild rosemary in its native home of South Africa. Its leaves have a strong, pleasantly astringent scent somewhat reminiscent of Rosmarinus. It is cold hardy only to USDA Zones 9, 10 and 11 -- such places as the Southwest, where summers are hot and dry. Or in Southern California's chaparral. The small white flowers cover the plant and are followed by cottony fluffs of seeds. Easily prunable. Grows well within reach of the ocean's salty air. It has several medicinal uses in South Africa, and in South Africa is even substituted for rosemary when cooking, to flavor such fare as lamb. |
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