Princess Flowers, Glory Bush, Lasiandra      ti-boo-CHEE-na ur-vil-ee-AH-na

• Evergreen shrub, to 15 ft (4.5 m) tall, somewhat over half as wide, rounded form, new growth reddish.  Leaves opposite, simple, elliptic-ovate to lanceolate, 4-12 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, 5-7 main veins, apex pointed (acute to acuminate), base rounded, green above, sometimes edged in red,slightly hairy below.  Flowers 7.5 cm wide, royal purple, 5-petaled, long purple stamens, solitary or small terminal clusters; blooms over a long period.  Fruit is a 5 valved, 12 mm wide capsule with a persistent calyx tube.
• Sun part shade.  Best in light, moist soil with added organic matter.  In cooler regions an attractive pot plant if protected in winter.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 9     Native to southern Brazil.
• Sometimes called a "beautiful weed" in Hawaii where it has naturalized (on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii), it is on the state's noxious weed list, forms thickets in moist areas.