Penta

 

• Botanical Name: Pentas lanceolata
  

• Common Names: Egyptian star cluster; star flower
  

• Description: Pentas are upright, herbaceous perennials that can grow up to 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and wide in their native grasslands of East Africa and Yemen. In backyard gardens, they are usually 1‚Äì2 ft (30‚Äì60 cm) tall, but can grow larger with flower clusters up to 5 in (13 cm) in diameter. Pentas have simple leaves with prominent veins on the underside and may be variegated. The leaves and stems are covered with fine hairs. In dense clusters, the flowers are long-tubed and star-shaped, and can be red, pink, white, magenta, or lilac. The name genus comes from the Greek word pentas which means "a series of five", with reference to the flower parts being in fives instead of fours