Recommended for your garden in the south of Spain: Ceratotheca triloba, the South African foxglove

The advantage this plant has over a true foxglove is that Ceratotheca triloba is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in hot climates

Denise Bush

Malaga

Friday, 25 October 2024, 13:47

Emulating the western European foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Ceratotheca triloba has tall stems and graceful blooms. The advantage over a true foxglove is that Ceratotheca is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in hot climates.

Related to snapdragons (Scrophulariaceae), Ceratotheca is actually a member of the sesame family (Pedaliaceae).

The dainty flowers of the African foxglove are each around 5cm long and come in shades of pink and white with purple stripes in the throat. The blooms, which start to appear mid to late summer, form on tall stems up to two metres tall and are excellent for use as a cut flower. Bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are attracted to the flowers.

The grey-green leaves, which are tri-lobed (hence the specific epithet triloba), are used medicinally to treat menstruation pain, fever, nausea and digestive problems. The young shoots and leaves are also eaten as a vegetable in times of shortage.

Propagation is easy by seed and the African foxglove may self-seed itself. The seeds form in fuzzy brown capsules which can be collected when ripe and stored to be sown in early spring. Although germination is relatively quick, the seedlings take a couple of months to grow to a size suitable for planting out. The seed pods left on the plant add winter interest.

Unfortunately, this 'foxglove' is not frost resistant. In ideal climates it will perform as a short-lived perennial but in most cases it is best to treat it as an annual.

Although drought resistant once established, regular irrigation will help plenty of flowering stems to form and keep the plant healthy.

All parts of the plant, including the seed pods, are covered in fine, slightly sticky, hairs and give off a rather unpleasant smell when crushed which make it unattractive to most pests.

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