Ancient Latin name
Evergreen heath-like shrubs or subshrubs, occasionally annual herbs. Leaves alternate, sometimes in clusters, or opposite at the base of the branches. Flowers in spikes or compound, branched heads, white to pink, blue or mauve. Calyx 5-lobed. Corolla 5-lobed or 2-lipped. Stamens 4, protruding. Fruit indehiscent, generally dividing into 2.
Generally grown for the delightful hazy blue flower clusters. Only 1 species is in general cultivation.
Now placed in the family Scrophulariaceae but has sometimes been placed in the family Globulariaceae or even its own family, Selaginaceae in the past.
Cuttings and seed.
Misty-looking plumes of clear blue flowers.
About 150 species from tropical and southern Africa.
Source: (2002). Globulariaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.