Coleus
Coleus scutellarioides (L.) Benth.
- light
- Full sun
- water
- Medium
- tall
- 71 cm
- wide
- 33 cm
Lamiaceae
Also called Painted nettle, Common coleus
Formerly Plectranthus scutellarioides, Calchas acuminatus, Calchas atropurpureus, Calchas crispipilus, and 66 more
When it flowers
Flowers all year in the tropics.
Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- SubshrubKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- Wet tropicalKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- Indo-China to Nansei-shotō and N. AustraliaKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun (6 h or more)Read from NC State Extension and RHS, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension full, part, shade; RHS full
- Height
- 51 cm to 91 cmRead from NC State Extension and RHS, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension 6–36 in; RHS 0.5–1 m
- Spread
- 15 cm to 51 cmRead from NC State Extension and RHS, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension 6–36 in; RHS 0.1–0.5 m
- Water
- Average: moist, well drainedRead from NC State Extension and RHS, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
- Flowers
- BlueRead from NC State Extension and RHS, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension blue, purple, white; RHS blue
- Coldest it survives
- 2 °C (USDA zone 10b)Read from NC State Extension and RHS, checked: the middle of what its sources sayHalfway between its 2 sources, which differ. Sources differ: NC State Extension -1.1 °C; RHS 5 °C
Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.
In other languages (12)
- Spanish
- Manto asiático, Chirrite, Payasito
- Indonesian
- Jawer Kotok, Iler
- Chinese
- 五彩蘇, 彩葉草, 洋紫蘇
- German
- Buntnessel
- Polish
- Koleus Blumego, pochwiatka Blumego
- Russian
- Колеус Блюме, Шпороцветник Блюма, Шпороцветник ароматный
- French
- Plectranthe fausse-scutellaire
- Swedish
- palettblad
- Chinese (China)
- 五彩苏
- Japanese
- キランジソ
- Portuguese
- Coleus
- Lithuanian
- Darželinis gumbinas
Where this comes from
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0 (observation counts)
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- RHS, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- 3D model: Coleus scutellarioides (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.