Neuracanthus africanus subsp. africanus

africanus: African

africanus: African; limpopoensis: of the Limpopo Valley, where this subspecies is found.

Shrubby perennial herb with erect or decumbent stems up to 1.5 m long. Leaves opposite, sessile or shortly petiolate, subpandurate, constricted in the lower third of the leaf, hairless or with scattered hairs above, pubescent along the veins below; margin entire, sometimes slightly wavy. Flowers in short spike-like axillary inflorescences, 2-6 cm long, with overlapping bracts, 5-11 mm long, with evenly spaced darker veins and long straight hairs on the margin. Corolla, 9-12 mm long, funnel-shaped, white with purple-blue lines in the throat. Capsule 7-10 mm long.

See subsp. africanus for general description. This subspecies differs in smaller leaves, 2-5 cm long, which are sessile, elliptic, without the constricted lower part or the concave margin.

Widely separated populations in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Limpopo, South Africa.

Southern Mozambique, southern Zimbabwe and Limpopo, South Africa