Coral False Vervain
Other names
Pink Snakeweed
Growth habit
Herbaceous
Perennation
Cultivated as annual
Native distribution
Central and South America
Biocultural value
Leaves can be brewed into herbal tea or combined with black tea.
Location
Source of plant
Unknown
Description
Suffructescent herb or slender straggling shrub to 3m; branches tetragonal in section, crisply pubescent. Leaves to 10mm, decussate-opposite, thick-chartaceous to leathery, ovate, ovate-oblong or elliptic, serrate-dentate, apex acute or acuminate, decurrent, rough above, softly pubescent or silky beneath. Inflorescence to 60cm, rachis stout, shallowly incrassated, pubescent; bracts 8-12mm, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, subulate to acuminate or cuspidate, pubescent; calyx to 12mm, 4-toothed; corolla large, showy, ranging from scarlet, crimson or red, fading to different shades of pink; ovary glabrous.
USDA Hardiness Zone
10
Special characteristics
tender perennial, fragrance, food