It is grown as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world, and has commonly escaped from cultivation to become naturalized.

The hermaphrodite, tubular flowers appear axillary and solitary, and come in many different colours including rose pink, violet, indigo blue or white, with double perianth.

The crown, slightly hairy on the outside, with shorter, rounded to indented, expansive lobes has two lips.

The asymmetrical, irregularly ovoid and many-seeded, cartilaginous seed capsules are 10 to 12 millimeters long and are divided into slightly unequal subjects.

It seems to have established its habitat from the north along the calcareous Sierra Madre and south into the volcanic belt.