The subtle beauty of the little known mauve-pink plume bush,
Syncolostemon latidens, has won the heart of those who have seen
this small perennial shrub flowering along forest margins in the
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. It belongs to the large sage and mint
family, Lamiaceae, with its characteristically fragrant leaves
and square stems. The family includes such popular South African
indigenous plants as Plectranthus, Orthosiphon, Hemizygia and
Becium. A soft shrub reaching 1-1.5m in height,. Produces a
profusion of mauve to deep pink flowers in mid-summer (January
to March). Codd (1985: 191) describes the flowers of S. latidens
as being born in a dense terminal panicle up to 200 mm long,
with verticels usually six-flowered, 4-8 mm apart, with bracts
up to 5 mm long and slightly longer than wide. The corolla tube
is up to 25mm long, gradually widening to about 6 mm at the
mouth, with the lower lip protruding 3-5 mm. Petiole very short,
less than 10 mm, leaves open ovate to broadly ovate, 30-50 mm
long, and 20-35 mm