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Lamiaceae
Lion's Ear
Leonotis leonurus
Strength, vibrancy, African wildness.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Leonotis
- Native to
- Southern Africa
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- Shrub
- Height
- 1–2 m (3–6.5 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low to moderate
- Hardiness
- 8–11
- Lifespan
- Medium-lived perennial
Did you know
- The bright orange tubular flowers are arranged in stacked whorls like floral wedding cakes, with each tier separated by a few inches of bare stem—a botanical layer cake.
- Indigenous southern African peoples (Khoikhoi, Zulu, Xhosa) call it 'wild dagga' and have smoked the dried leaves and flowers for mild euphoric effects for centuries.
- The Latin name means 'lion-tailed lion,' referring to the fuzzy orange flower clusters that resemble both a lion's ear tufts and the tail tip of a male lion.
- Hummingbirds in California gardens (where lion's ear has naturalized) defend it fiercely—the long tubular flowers are perfectly shaped for their bills.
- Lion's ear blooms when most other flowers are finished, providing a critical late-season nectar source for migrating monarch butterflies in coastal California.
Color meanings
0
strength
1
vibrancy
2
African wild