Shrubs up to 2.5 m high, the stem woody at the base, hollow, glabrous or minutely puberulent. Leaves ovate to lanceolate, 10-25 cm long, tru ncate to shallowly cordate basally, long acuminate apically, puberulent on both surfaces. Flowers in cymose-paniculate cl usters. Sepals suborbicular, 5-6 mm long, subcoriaceous, glabrous or puberulent. Corolla deep pink to rose-purple to almost white, 5-8 cm long. Fruit capsular, ovoid to subglobose, 2 cm long. Seeds covered with long comose brown trichomes.

Fl. Per.: July to November, perhaps longer.

Type: Brasil, Martius 2389 (M, lectotype).

C-7 Rawalpindi Dist,: Rawalpindi, M.A. Siddiqi 1569 (RAW), id., Kundan Lal 106 (RAW), Jhelum to Rawalpindi, M. Qaiser 3526 (KUH), D-7 Lyallpur Dist.: Lyallpur, M. Qaiser 307 (KUH), G-4: Karachi, Nazimabad, Saida Qureshi s.n. (KUH), G-5 Mirpur Khas, Qaiser & Ghafoor 4174 (KUH).

Distribution: Originally from the America tropics, now cultivated or naturalized in most subtropical or tropical countries of the world.

It is commonly used as a hedge plant. Most, if not all, of the plants in Asia belong to this subspecies, perhaps reflecting Portuguese transport from the Brasilian region. Differs from the type variety in its habit, the shape of the leaves and being mostly glabrous or puberulent.