This tropical genus from the leadwort family (Plumbaginaceae) spans shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and ground covers, all of them sharing a vigorous, spreading habit and small tubular flowers in shades that lean toward sky and slate. The plants spread readily through underground stems, forming dense mats in warm-climate landscapes where they serve as reliable ground cover in difficult spots.

Handling plumbago calls for gloves — the sap is a known contact irritant, a trait easy to overlook given how inviting the blue flowers are to passing butterflies. In the southern United States it performs as a woody perennial; further north it finds a home as a conservatory plant or container subject brought in before the first frost.