Strobilanthes dyerianus (Persian shield)

Persian shield isn’t Persian. It’s from Myanmar (Burma). It is not found in the wild in North America. The genus Strobilanthes means “cone flower,” because the flowerheads are conical.

Plants: Persian shield is an evergreen, or more accurately, an “everpurple,” given that its leaves are a stunningly beautiful shade of purple, variously described as iridescent or metallic. It is a tropical mounded shrub 3–4′ (91–121 cm) tall and 2–3′ (60–91 cm) around.

Leaves: Opposite, a combination of purple and green, lanceolate to ovate, with small serrations. Leaf undersides are solid purple. Leaves have a velvety feel, and are 4–7″ (10–17 cm) long.

Flowers: Inconspicuous flowers form short funnel-shaped spikes. Flowers are tubular, and pale blue or pale violet. Each flower has five lobes and 2-4 stamens.

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Acanthaceae	Acanthus family, of tropical herbs and shrubs
Genus	Strobilanthes	From the Greek strobilos, “a cone,” and anthos, “flower,” for the form of the flower-head in some species
Species	dyerianus	For botanist Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843-1928), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from 1885-1905

About plant names...