Coleus scutellarioides (Coleus)

Native from Southeast Asia through the western Pacific to northern Australia, this plant is a perennial herb that becomes somewhat woody at the base. It has square stems and opposite, oval leaves with scalloped edges. Cultivated forms display combinations of green, cream, yellow, pink, red, and purple. Small, two-lipped blue to white flowers form upright clusters at the ends of shoots. The flowers produce tiny brown, single-seeded nutlets held within persistent calyxes. Plants can reproduce by seed or stem cuttings and may become sparse and less vigorous after flowering. The species has been introduced into Colombia. Although widely cultivated, its wild populations in Singapore are listed as Critically Endangered locally. Photographed in Colombia, Ecuador and Florida.