(Mint Lion's Ear or Klipp Dagga) Here's another plant for Dr. Seuss gardens. Mint Lion's Ear produces intermittent, shaggy whorls of fuzzy, rosy orange tubular flowers that butterflies and hummingbirds love. The blossoms burst from prickly, round clusters on stems as tall and slender as auto antennas.
As the stems grow taller, more whorls appear. In contrast to Leonotis menthifolia, this variety of Mint Lion's Ear has heart-shaped leaves. The forest green of the foliage quiets the floral heat.
Although native to Africa, this fragrant member of the mint family has naturalized in the American South where it grows easily in weak soils, such as along gravelly road shoulders. In Afrikaans, a klippie is a small stone, so that may be where this long-blooming plant gained the "Klipp" portion of its South African common name.
Historically, Africans have used Lion's Ear species medicinally to sooth coughs, dysentery, fevers and headaches. Although some Africans smoke various forms of Leonotis and call it Dagga -- also slang for marijuana -- the Cannabis genus is unrelated and contains different chemicals.
As to the scientific appellation nepetifolia, it indicates that the plant's foliage is similar to that of Nepeta or Catnip, another mint family plant.
Mint Lion's Ear grows easily and tolerates both heat and drought. It is a tall, wide subshrub, which means that it combines soft herbaceous perennial growth with some woodiness. Use it as a screen or background planting in full sun locations.