Mackaya bella, called the forest bell bush, is a species of flowering plant in the acanthus family Acanthaceae, native to South Africa (Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, and Northern Provinces) and Eswatini.[1]
Growing to 1.5m (04.9feet) tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves, and trumpet-shaped pale lilac flowers veined in purple. The plant is not hardy below 10C, so in temperate zones requires protection during the winter months. However, it may be placed outside in a sheltered spot in summer. It requires an alkaline or neutral soil.
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2]