It has been introduced to the United States as an ornamental where it has become naturalized as a weed of cropland and vacant land, particularly on disturbed ground.

In the deeply pigmented centre of the flower, the surface features striations, which have been the subject of controversy about whether they act as a diffraction grating, creating iridescence.

The pollinated but unripe seedpods look like oriental paper lanterns, less than 25 mm (1 in) across, pale green with purple highlights.

In the absence of pollen donation, the style bends and makes contact with the anthers of the same flower, inducing self-pollination.

[12] It has also been demonstrated that the blue scattering increases the foraging efficiency of bumblebees in laboratory environments,[12] although it remains unknown whether this effect translates to a meaningful advantage in the field.