Wolkberg Whistlesweet

Thorncroftia media is a semi-succulent suffrutex growing to about 60 cm (24 in) tall, branching from the base. The stems are erect and sparsely branched, and are covered in a mixture of glandular hairs and fine, branched, non-glandular hairs. The leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, typically 30–55 mm (1.2–2.2 in) long and 13–35 mm (0.51–1.38 in) wide. The veins are sunken on the upper surface and strongly raised below, forming a network of shallow recesses. Both leaf surfaces are densely hairy and gland-dotted. The leaf tip is rounded, the base wedge-shaped, and the margins bear about six shallow scallops on the distal half of each side. The petiole is relatively long, usually 22–28 mm (0.87–1.10 in). The inflorescence is a sparse, terminal panicle, with additional short racemes arising from the upper leaf axils. The main axis may reach up to 26 cm (10 in) in length. Bracts are leaf-like near the base of the inflorescence and become smaller towards the tip. Flower stalks (pedicels) are 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in) long. The calyx is 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long at flowering and bears both sessile and stalked glandular hairs. It is initially mauve and lilac, later becoming red and pink. …