The Lotus plant

I received this Lotus plant as a gift recently; I'd never heard of it before.  It is the most unusual looking plant with beautiful fiery orange flowers.  The plant is occasionally available from Gia's Nursery in Sandton

 

Thanks to Google, here's the story : Lotus berthelotii is a perennial plant endemic to the Canary Islands.  This plant is either extinct in the wild or persists as a few individuals. In 1884 it was already classed as "exceedingly rare" and plant collection probably hastened its decline.