THYMELAEACEAE

Lasiosiphon rubescens

Red Curryflower

Wildflowers

Local Context

A beautiful wildflower that is particularly common in the Central Lowveld and lends it colourful shape to this website's logo. It occurs from Limpopo down to Eswatini.

Identification

Growth: Small shrub (up to 60 cm tall) with upright, slender branches growing from a woody base.
Flowers: Arranged in round heads (1.2–1.8 cm wide) containing 20–40 flowers at the ends of the branches; they are initially yellow but quickly turn red or reddish-orange.
Leaves: Narrow and slightly wider near the tip (1.2–1.8 cm long), sparse on the upper stems but densely clustered near the base of the plant.
Texture: The leaves, stems, and flower stalks are completely smooth and hairless; the lower part of the flower tube has some short hairs.
Fruit: Produces small, smooth, hairless seeds (about 3 mm long).

Did You Know?

Known as the Red Curryflower for its distinctive spicy scent, this vibrant yellow-to-red plant is a paradox of beauty and danger; it is highly toxic to livestock and humans due to potent diterpenes, yet its tough, stringy bark and extracts have historical roots in traditional medicine and craft. Because of its recent reclassification, you will frequently find it listed as Gnidia rubescens in older reference guides.

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