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Home Home » TYPES » Herbs » Pycnostachys urticifolia, the blue boys
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Pycnostachys urticifolia, the blue boys

Pycnostachys urticifolia, the blue boys
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  • Pycnostachys urticifolia
  • Pycnostachys urticifolia flower spike
  • Pycnostachys urticifolia leaves
  • Pycnostachys urticifolia, the blue boys
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Image information

Description

The flowers of Pycnostachys urticifolia, sometimes commonly called blue boys are mauve to dark blue, their colouring sometimes compared to gentian, cobalt or cornflowers. A rare, almost white flowering form also exists.

The corolla of P. urticifolia is two-lipped, the lower one boat-shaped, the upper one smaller and erect. Corollas may become up to 2 cm long. They are notably hairy in the photo.

Each flower has four stamens in two pairs of different length, their anthers protruding above the side of the “boat” in the photo. A couple of flowers also display thin, bluish styles, twisting up for presentation among the stamens in the pollination parade.

Flowering happens from spring to autumn, mostly in late summer (Onderstall, 1984; Manning, 2009; www.plantzafrica.com; www.zimbabweflora.co.zw).

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338
Photographer
Thabo Maphisa
Author
Ivan Latti
 
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