Mackaya bella, called the forest bell bush, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa.[2]

Mackaya bella
Mackaya bella flowers are bilaterally symmetric
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Acanthaceae
Genus:	Mackaya
Species:	M. bella
Binomial name
Mackaya bella Harv.[1]
Synonyms[2]
Asystasia bella (Harv.) Vesque

Growing to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves, and trumpet-shaped pale lilac flowers veined in purple. The plant is not hardy below 10 °C (50 °F), so in temperate zones requires protection during the winter months. However, it may be placed outside in a sheltered spot in summer. It requires an alkaline or neutral soil.[3]

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]

References

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