Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides)

Iler or coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae, shrub, evergreen, erect, up to 100 cm tall, woody-based, flowering and widely grown for its decorative variegated leaves found in cultivated varieties.

C. scutellarioides has fibrous roots, upright stems, square with four corners, bright green in color, branching to form tridents and often dark in color, more or less four-sided.

The leaves have a very varied shape and color, slightly fleshy, 1.5-10 cm long, 1-6 cm wide, generally oval in shape and have long stalks. The tips are pointed to rounded, the margins are generally scalloped and hairs on both sides.

Inflorescences at the ends of the stems, vary widely in size and up to 4 cm long. The petals are bell-shaped, up to 5-10 mm long and bluish-purple in color. The stamens join about half the length and are covered by the upper lip of the flower. The fruit is black and 1 mm long.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Ocimeae
Subtribe: Plectranthinae
Genus: Coleus
Species: Coleus scutellarioides

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