Perhaps not in such a groovy way but touch the stamens and the flowers will open up in front of your eyes.
• Furry hearts
Of course plants don't have hearts but the leaves of this plant are large, furry and shaped like a heart. This is not the only beautiful attribute of the plant; it also has unusual flowers.
They are about 5cm across, are pure white with purple and yellow stamens and are held in large clusters above the foliage from early spring right into summer - a wow factor in any garden.
• Delicate beauty
Sparrmannia africana is native to marshes in South Africa so can tolerate wet locations but dislikes cold spots. It is on the border of hardiness in Otago, so needs full sun but some shelter from hard winters.
It has become a popular house plant in Europe so can always be grown in a pot and brought in on cold nights. It is so beautiful it might not make it back outside.
Sparrmannia africana can be seen in the forest biome bed in the Southern African Garden in the upper area of Dunedin Botanic Garden. The Southern African Garden is situated between the Rhododendron Dell and the aviary.
• Dylan Norfield is the collection curator of the geographic and arboretum collections at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
