[2] Cultivars bred for ornamental use include the common 'Eximia', the smaller, more floriferous 'Floribunda', and 'Macrantha', which has larger flowers without white throats.

[3] The genus name Brunfelsia commemorates sixteenth century German monk, Otto Brunfels.

[5] This species is a shrub up to 2.4 meters tall by 1.5 wide whose bark is greyish brown and mostly smooth and only occasionally interrupted by longitudinal cracks.

The dark green, smooth branches are strong and glabrous, rarely covered with fluff-haired or glandular trichomes.

It is tubular or rarely tubular-bellied or puffy, with glandular trichomes or completely hairless, firmly membranous to almost leathery.

The calyx teeth are 3 to 8 mm long, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, they rest on the petal, the tips are pointed to tapered.

[9] The crown is made up of five overgrown petals, it is initially deep red-purple and fades over the flowering phase to a very light lavender colour or white.

At the transition between the petal and coronary band, white dots appear, the edge of the crown is occasionally violet colored.

The lobes have a length of 15 to 30 mm, are widely rounded to almost elliptic, the tip is rounded-cut to dull, laterally overlapping more or less.

The distribution areas are located in the state of Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina, where they range from sea level to altitudes of 1500 m. Most are found in pluvial rainforests with an annual rainfall of up to 1600 mm.

One finds plants of the kind on shady river banks and ravines, as well as in forests in damp, well draining soils.

The roots of several species corresponding to the genus Brunfelsia contain substances whose consumption can cause problems in human health according to the compendium published by the European Food Safety Authority in 2012.