A perennial herb or low subshrub of seasonally dry tropical habitats, this plant is native from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of tropical South America. Outside its native range, it is established in the Galápagos, Madagascar, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Leaves cluster close to the ground or on a short stem, while slender flower stalks bear tightly overlapping green bracts. Narrow, funnel-shaped lavender to blue flowers open from these scaly spikes. Photographed in Atlántico, Colombia.