Origin: Mediterranean basin, Persia, India, Japan. Evergreen, shrub (or small tree), bushy, compact, rounded. Leaves: evergreen, lanceolate, entire, quite leathery, arranged in groups of 2-3 on each verticil, green (on some varieties they are variegated). Flowers: depending on the variety they can be simple or double, fragrant or not, all shades of various colours. They are grouped in terminal heads and last throughout the summer. Fruit: after the flowering, in long pods containing lanuginous seeds. Cultivation: it usually grows in poor soil but prefers to be planted in a garden where the soil is well-tilled and fertile. If grown in a pot, this must be deeper than it is wide to allow space for the long roots. In winter it should be kept quite dry but from spring to autumn it requires a lot of moisture. Use: the abundant clusters of flowers make an attractive contrast with the dark leaves forming beautiful splashes of colour in parks and gardens if there is enough space.