I spotted the lions tail in Sydney’s botanic garden back in may-it was the lovely bright orange hairy flowers that stand out from far away. From doing some reading, it is a tough South African plant that can tolerate extreme heat, drought and dry soil. A handy plant to have in certain conditions! the lions tail is a perennial shrub up to two metres in height that native in temperate to sub-tropical biomes, including tall grassland. It belongs in the Lamiaceae, or mint, family. As always, here is what the binomial name, Leonotis leonurus, means:

• Leonotis-comes from two Greek words, ‘leon’ meaning lion and ‘ous’ or ‘otis’ meaning and ear. This is in reference to the corolla (the petals) that look like a lions ear.
• Leonurus-also comes from two Greek words. ‘Leon’ meaning lion and ‘oura’ meaning tail.

The lions tail is an evergreen, upright shrub that grows from a woody base. Stems are hairy.

The leaves are lance-shaped to narrow-elliptic. They are 5-8 cm in length and 1-1.5 cm wide. The margins are irregularly toothed and the leaves are a little hairy. They are mid-green in colour.

As with many plants, the flowers are the stars of the show. Bright orange and hairy, they certainly stand out. The flowers appear in whorls that are arranged in dense clusters of more than twelve individual flowers per leas axil where they appear. Individual flowers are 2-lipped and tubular in shape and can reach fifteen millimetres in length. The flowers appear in late summer and autumn. With the flowers containing nectar, bees, butterflies and birds love the flowers.

In cooler climates, the lions tail is often treated as an annual as it is tricky to grow outdoors in these climates. It can be grown indoors too. In Sydney, the lions tail is perfectly happy outside.

Pruning can be done after flowering. This keeps the plant tidy and also helps to make the plant bushier. To propagate, use softwood cuttings or seed.

Would I have a lions tail in the garden at home? I think that I would as I do love the flowers. They are very cheerful through summer and autumn.