Streptocarpus dunnii well protected

Often rock- or boulder-based, this Streptocarpus dunnii plant grows from its own veritable fortress.

The bulging leaf ridges between parallel lateral veins run straight from midrib to margin. The blades are coarse from secondary venation enhancing the quilted appearance and the grey hairs found on both surfaces. The midrib is a dominant feature, curving down to its tip and holding the rigid structure in shape.

Getting up to 60 cm long, the plant is sometimes called elephant’s ear on account of leaf size, not its oblong shape (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; Onderstall, 1984; Germishuizen and Fabian, 1982; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).