This beautiful flower, seen at Saint Aignan château below, is called plumbago from the Latin plumbum (lead) so-called because it was thought to cure lead poisoning. It’s common name in French is dentelaire (from dents = teeth) because it was traditionally used to cure tooth ache. It originates from South Africa. In English it is also called sky flower. Unfortunately it doesn’t like frost so needs to be protected during winter in the Loire Valley.
Cette belle fleur, vue au château de Saint-Aignan ci-dessus, s’appelle plumbago du latin plumbum (plomb), la plante étant supposée guérir le saturnisme. Son nom common est dentelaire car elle est traditionnellement utilisée pour soigner les maux dentaires. Originaire de l’Afrique du sud, il faut la protéger du gel en val de Loire.
