Obety Baptista and Ton Rulkens took photos while on a hike. Their subject was Streptocarpus myoporoides in its natural habitat, an almost vertical slope in the shadow of Afromontane forest, the high slopes of Mount Ribaue, northern Mozambique. Lion territory according to their local guides.

S. myoporoides was described by Hilliard and Burtt in their classic 1971 book Streptocarpus: An African Plant Study, but only from material in herbaria. It has not been studied botanically and has been in cultivation only recently. It is an unusual Streptocarpus with a growth habit quite different from the vast majority of these species.

Seeds collected as this species have resulted in it being brought into cultivation. It is not an easy plant to grow, although it has been brought to flower under artificial bright light and moderately cool temperatures. The material in cultivation differs a bit in appearance from the plants in the photos from Mozambique, having somewhat shorter flower stalks and smaller leaves. This is quite likely a function of culture.

Additional photos may be seen in a slideshow by clicking one of the links below.

• A top view of the flowering plant in cultivation
• A side view of this plant
• The whole plant illustrates the interesting form of the species in nature
• The close-up of the flower cluster also shows the characteristic twisted seedpods of Streptocarpus
• The back of the leaves look dramatic; it is likely that this is a variable characteristic of wild populations