Description

Cape leadwort, blue plumbago or Cape plumbago, is a species of flowering plant  in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to South Africa.

Characteristics:

Plumbago is an evergreen shrub with whip-like semiwoody stems that form a loose, rounded mound 3-10 ft high with a similar spread. Plumbago can be pruned to grow like a vine and scramble over supports, or pruned into a more compact mounded shrub, or left to sprawl with its long, gracefully arching branches. The 2 in oblong leaves are a fresh, light yellowish green color. The sky blue flowers are 1 in long tubes expanding into 5 petals spreading about 1 in across. The flowers are borne in rounded terminal clusters 6 in across and look quite a bit like phlox flowers. Plumbago blooms all year long except for the coldest winter months. Leaves : Arranged in succession of 5 unequal lanceolate leaves, Inflorescence : Terminal clusters. Flowers : Pale-blue flowers. Flowering and Fruiting Time : November - April

Medicinal Uses:

Cape leadwort is used traditionally to treat warts, broken bones and wounds. It is taken as a snuff for headaches and as an emetic to dispel bad dreams. A stick of the plant is placed in the thatch of huts to ward off lightning.