Pentas

Pentas is an accepted genus in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, rather than one uniform garden plant. Kew lists 16 accepted species and a native range that spans tropical and southern Africa, the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Plants sold or discussed as “pentas” often refer to Pentas lanceolata, but species-level size, flowering, and care details should not be treated as universal across the genus. ## Genus Context The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew recognizes Pentas as an accepted genus and records its broad native range and accepted species list. [Kew’s Plants of the World Online genus record](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:35090-1) is the source for this taxonomic context. The University of Florida IFAS garden guide explicitly discusses Pentas lanceolata: it describes summer flowers in red, pink, or white and notes the five-lobed form of its tubular blooms. Those flower colors and garden traits belong to that commonly grown species, not automatically to every Pentas species. [UF/IFAS’s Pentas guide](https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/pentas/) provides species-specific growing guidance. ## Maintenance Identify the species or cultivar before applying a planting plan. For P. lanceolata specifically, UF/IFAS recommends a late-spring planting in full sun and well-drained soil, with regular watering during establishment and additional water when rainfall is limited. Growing habit, hardiness, and flowering can differ across the genus, so use a matching species profile for local conditions.