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Species of flowering plant in the family Francoaceae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melianthus comosus, the honey flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Francoaceae. It is native to the mostly dry regions of southern Africa. The attractive multi-stemmed shrubs are popular garden subjects. The Afrikaans name kruidjie-roer-my-nie (herb-touch-me-not) alludes to the unpleasant smell that results from bruising of any part of the plant.[3] The vegetative parts are very toxic, as with other Melianthus species, and extracts of the leaves and stem have anti-bacterial properties.[4]
| Honey flower | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Geraniales |
| Family: | Francoaceae |
| Genus: | Melianthus |
| Species: | M. comosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Melianthus comosus Vahl, 1794 | |
| Synonyms | |
It is native to South Africa, western Lesotho and southern Namibia, where it occurs from 400 to 2,000 m above sea level.[2] In South Africa it occurs in the greater part of the Cape and Free State provinces, and locally in North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
The flowers which produce copious black nectar[note 1] are zygomorphic in shape, and green to pale pink in colour.[2][5] The black nectar is visible through the pale green, semi-transparent sepals. A flower produces an average of 42 μl of nectar a day, with a 10% sugar content, which has been described as a "rich black honey" that almost fills the cup.[6] Vahl's description of the species in 1794 however omitted any mention of the coloured nectar, or its abundance.[2]
Honey from its flowers is dark in colour, and apparently not toxic to humans.[7] The flowers are visited by insects and birds,[2] especially sunbirds which eagerly seek them out.[6][8]
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