It has purple flowers in large clusters from spring to autumn.

Some sources treat it as a variety of the species Wigandia urens.

Native to Central America, it is thought to be naturalized in southern California as a garden escape.

It is commonly grown in gardens, and thrives best in a mixture of loam and peat.

[2] A substance that it secretes, 2,3-dimethoxy-geranyl- 1,4-benzoquinone (consisting of a quinonoid ring with a 10 or 11 carbon-membered side chain) is a remarkably strong sensitizer, which is found nowhere else in the plant kingdom.