Pentas is a genus of the Rubiaceae

Rubiaceae

The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...

 family of flowering plants. Pentas lanceolata

Pentas lanceolata

Pentas lanceolata, the Egyptian Starcluster, is known for its wide use as a garden plant where it often accompanies butterfly gardens ....

is a particularly popular species. The plants have dark green, lance

Lance

A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

-shaped, somewhat furry and deeply vein

Vein

In the circulatory system, veins are blood vessels that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated blood to the heart...

ed leaves providing a backdrop for prolific clusters of never-ending, five-petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

ed flowers. These may be red, white, lavender

Lavender

The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...

, purple, or shades of pink. Some are two-toned. All are extremely attractive to butterflies

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

, and the red and dark pink varieties delight hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

s. Also Pentas is compatible with the dry soil and intense heat of the Floridian sun. Lastly It can withstand full sunlight with little to no care.They look great in pots, baskets, and borders.
LIGHT: full sun
SPACE: 10 - 20 inches apart
HEIGHT: 10-18 inches tall
BLOOM TIME: spring, summer, and fall
FEED: plant food
PLANT WITH: Salvia and Coneflower