Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)
Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)
Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)
Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)

Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)

Common Names: African Giant Blue Salvia, Tropical Giant Salvia

 

Botanical Name: Brillantaisia owariensis P.Beauv.

 

Synonyms: Belantheria belvisiana Nees, Brillantaisia alata T.Anderson ex Oliv., Brillantaisia bauchiensis Hutch. & Dalziel, Brillantaisia dewevrei De Wild. & T.Durand, Brillantaisia leonensis Burkill, Brillantaisia mahonii C.B.Clarke, Brillantaisia nitens Lindau, Brillantaisia nyanzarum Burkill, Brillantaisia patula T.Anderson, Brillantaisia salviiflora Lindau

Family: Acanthaceae

Distribution: Native to  Tropical Africa.

Uses:

  • Tropical Gardens: Enhances lush, tropical-themed landscapes with its large, showy blue-purple flowers and bold foliage.
  • Shade Gardens: Thrives in partial shade, making it suitable for brightening up shaded corners of the garden.
  • Pollinator Attraction: Draws bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds with its nectar-rich blooms.
  • Backdrops: Serves as a striking backdrop in mixed borders due to its height and vibrant flowers.
  • Specimen Plant: Used as a focal point in garden beds for its unique and dramatic appearance.
  • Wildlife Gardens: Supports ecological diversity by providing food and habitat for pollinators.
  • Containers: Grows well in large pots or planters, ideal for patios and terraces.
  • Seasonal Interest: Adds color and life to the garden during its blooming season.
  • Low-Maintenance Landscapes: Appreciated for its hardiness and ability to thrive with minimal care in suitable climates.
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Brillantaisia owariensis (African Giant Blue Salvia)

Perennial or shrubby herb, usually glandular and sticky; stems up to 2 m tall, erect or rooting at base, glabrous to crisped-puberulous, sometimes also with long pilose hairs. Leaves with petiole up to 14 (-17) cm long; lamina ovate-cordiform or broadly so, largest 11-28 x 6-20 cm, apex acuminate, sometimes drawn out into a short obtuse tip, base cuneate to cordate, margin regularly to irregularly and sometimes grossly crenate-dentate (rarely subentire), glabrous to densely crisped-puberulous on veins, glabrous to sparsely puberulous on lamina. Panicle from very lax to narrow and contracted, (5-) 10-45 cm long, finely puberulous and with usually dense broad glandular hairs, often also with long pilose hairs; primary bracts green to purplish, ovate to elliptic or obovate, from leaf-size to 10×3 mm near apex, finely puberulous and with long pilose hairs, towards apex with stalked capitate glands; secondary bracts lanceolate to elliptic, 5-18 x 2-5 mm; pedicels 0.5-7(-ll) mm long. Calyx dark purple, with dense capitate glands, ± puberulous hairs and ± scattered pilose hairs; lobes linear-lanceolate, tapering gradually to distinctly spathulate, ventral and lateral (8-) 12-19 mm long, dorsal (10-) 14-21 mm long. Corolla pale to deep mauve, pale to deep purple or blue to dark blue with white throat, (25-) 30-53 mm long, with purple to dark purple glandular hairs; tube 7-14 mm long; lower lip 20-38 mm long, lobes 2-5 mm long, ovate, subacute (lateral) or rounded. Filaments and style white; anthers black, (5-) 6-9 (-11) mm long, hairy along connective; staminodes filiform, 10-15 mm long, widened apically. Capsule (17-) 20-35 mm long, the valves 2-3 mm wide, glandular-puberulous and usually with longer non-glandular hairs. Seed ±1.5 mm long (after Vollesen, 2008).

Etymology: The genus name Brillantaisia is named in honor of M. Brillantais-Marion, the principal ship-owner of the Company of Oware. The specific epithet owariensis comes from the Latinized form of “Oware,” referring to the Company of Oware.

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