Common name: Scabious |
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Scabiosa incisa with its large mauve or white flowers must be one of South Africa's prettiest indigenous perennials. Growing in small clumps, the flowerheads stand above the foliage, gently moving with the slightest breeze. On warm summer days, butterflies are often seen on the flowers, for Scabiosa is one of their favourite nectar plants.
Distribution Name
Uses Growing Scabiosa incisa Scabiosa incisa is easy to grow and most rewarding, with an abundance of flowers, flowering non-stop from spring to the middle of summer. S. incisa responds well to cultivation, with its main requirement being full sun and well-drained soil. It can survive with very little water during the summer but will produce much lusher growth with a compost mulch and occasional good watering. S. incisa is usually planted in groups to edge the front of beds.
The combinations for Scabiosa with other plants are limitless, for it can be used with spring annuals, summer perennials or in a fynbos bed as a fast-growing groundcover and colour filler. Simple combinations where restios like Chondropetalum tectorum (thatching reed) form the structure and S. incisa the soft, colourful interest, can be very striking. In a perennial border S. incisa, combined with Vernonia glabra, Geranium multisectum, Agapanthus and Orthosiphon labiatus, forms a lovely show for summer. S. incisa can also be planted with succulents-a striking combination often planted at Kirstenbosch is S. incisa with the grey leaf form of Cotyledon orbiculatum (pig's ears). Scabiosa incisa can be propagated from seed or cuttings. At Kirstenbosch most of the new plants are propagated from cuttings. The main plantings are done in autumn and winter to give the plants time to establish before flowering starts in spring. S. incisa has no serious pests. Occasionally plants may get plant lice but it is not necessary to spray, for very little damage is done. To keep the plants vigorous they should be pruned back to encourage new growth. References
Liesl van der Walt |
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To find out if SANBI has seed of this or other SA species, please email our seedroom.
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A
fast-growing perennial, it forms a number of stems on the ground,
which turn slightly woody with age at the base. The finely divided
leaves form opposite each other along the lower part of the stems.
The older leaves at the bottom of the stem turn brown and fall off
as new fresh green leaves are formed. The soft leaves are slightly
hairy at the top and bottom. The beautiful flowers are formed on
long, naked stems from early spring to the middle of summer (September-December).
The straggling stems vary in height but can stand up to 430 mm high
with a single flowerhead at the tip. A closer look at a e flower
reveals individual flowers that are crowded together to form dense,
flattened flowerheads. The looser flowers along the outside have
longer petals that form a frilly edge, whereas the flowers in the
centre are much smaller and compact to form a tight button effect.
After flowering, the seeds are formed in interesting rounded bristleheads,
that slowly fall apart as the seeds ripen and are ready to be blown
away by the wind.
The
Dipsacaceae or scabious family is found in Africa and Asia, but
is most abundant in the Mediterranean region. There are 11 genera
and 290 species. Two genera are indigenous to southern Africa, Cephalaria
and Scabiosa. In South Africa there are nine species of Scabiosa;
in total there are 100 species distributed from Africa to Asia.
