ID this Flower seen in South Africa

[AnonYMouse]

I know we have a very knowledgeable crowd here, some even from SA. Does anyone know what this plant is? A friend photographed it on their trip to SA and beyond.

[estación seca]

Oops... I was thinking Acanthaceae and wrote Melastomaceae. Dicliptera and Justicia are in Acanthaceae. The plant turned out to be an acanthus.

My original post:

It looks like a melastome (Dicliptera, Justicia, family Melastomaceae), mint (Plectranthus, family Lamiaceae) or Lobelia (family Lobeliaceae.) All these names are in flux as more DNA work gets done.

Does your friend know whether the stems were square in cross-section? That would make it a mint. Most genera and species are aromatic. Lobelias tend to have soft leaves that are long and pointed, and they occur in damp to wet soil. Melastomes tend to be tough, papery plants.

I'm betting on a melastome unless the stems were square.

[jcec1]

Brillantaisia subulugurica

[PaphMadMan]

Brilliantaisia ulugarica perhaps, rather than subulugarica, but that's the genus for sure. Giant Salvia or Giant Sage as a common name, but it is actually an Acanthus relative not Mint family.

[AnonYMouse]

Thanks!