Cape Hollyhocks Ideal For The Shade Garden

The Cape hollyhock or Kaapse stokroos is a large, ornamental shrub in the mallow family Malvaceae, which includes other South African members like the cross-berry (Grewia occidentalis) and the coast hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus). Named after the Swedish botanist Anders Sparrman (1748 – 1820), there are seven species of Sparrmannia, of which two occur in southern Africa.

- Graham Duncan

S. africana is the most well known, while the other is S. ricinocarpa, which is of smaller stature and has a much wider distribution, from the Eastern Cape to Tropical Africa. S. africana is endemic to the southern parts of the Western and Eastern Cape, from Riversdale in the west to Port Elizabeth in the east, and is found in moist, lightly shaded valleys, on hillsides, and along streams and forest margins.