I'm working on understanding how to tell the difference between Leonotis leonurus and L. nepetifolia. The seeds I grew that were marked L. leonurus grew into plants that bloomed with a peachy blossom. I see there's a L. nepetifolia 'Shrimp Cocktail' cultivar, so now I'm starting to wonder if I was growing two different selections of L. nepetifolia. The leaves seemed different, with the L. leonurus having coarser teeth. All the L. nepetifolia had that "stippling" on them as though a pest was bothering them. The L. leonurus started blooming about 2 weeks later than the L. nepetifolia. Both survived the first light frosts, but the 12-degree nights a couple weeks ago finished them all. Any help is much appreciated.

Hi Michelle,

Neither of those are Leonotis leonurus. They look like a couple variations of Leonotis nepetifolia.

Leonotis leonurus has noticeably different leaves and is more of a shrub with woody older stems.


Leonotis nepetifolia is often mislabeled as Leonotis leonurus for some reason.

Thank you Danita! I spent most of the spring and summer vacillating between thinking they were the same species and thinking they were different species

Danita said:Leonotis nepetifolia is often mislabeled as Leonotis leonurus for some reason.

I guess I'm your case in point. The L. leonurus seeds I acquired for 2018 grew into L. nepetifolia. Now the L. leonurus seeds I acquired for 2019 have grown into L. nepetifolia again (albeit a different color). Since I grew the orange ones and the peachy ones together this year, I wonder what color their children will be...