Leonotis leonurus:
Lion cub's tails looking out of a tall grass...

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...When you drive along the savannah and veld of South Africa, you can see a groups of lion's cubs running among the tall savannah grass. Their ears look out of the grass as bright cheerful spots. The tips of their tails swing by the wind with the grass where the cubs hide. Why so many Lion's cubs? What a surprise! However, these are not the cubs of the King of Animals, these are the tips of pretty flowers endemic to this region...
...A curious thing, the plant continues growing through the flower! This creates a multi-level appearance...
...Leonotis has a long history of medicinal use by traditional African tribes... This plant has a history of being used for its psychoactive properties which have been compared to a mild version of the Cannabis plant... Modern herbal medicine mainly uses this plant for a calming tea infusion...

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In the photo: Mr B stays calm with his Lion's Ears...