Lyperia lychnidea

Initially I did not know the name of the interesting seedling that came up as an “extra” in a tray in the greenhouse. I brought it home to see what it would do, & it made itself at home in my dry parking strip. Growing to 1’ without care, in May it began blooming & then didn’t quit! It produces chartreuse yellow flowers at the tips, deliciously clove scented at night. When I cut off the flower spike (it was getting really, really long & pendulous), numerous side branches developed, so though spreading, it could be kept fairly compact. Intrigued by the delicious scent & by how easy it was to grow, I finally found its picture in one of our South African flower books: Lyperia lychnidea, a perennial from the Western Cape. Native to sandy soils, but doesn’t mind my clay soil. Some nocturnal insect helped it set seeds, & now we can introduce it to you. Sometimes great plants are found by such serendipity!