Perennials and subshrubs, normally herbaceous, known for their quite showy, curved, tubular purple, lilac to white flowers. There are many species through tropical to subtropical Eastern Asia, some of which are grown as ornamental half hardies, S. anisophyllus but there are also excellent hardy garden plants, which provide useful flowers and structure during autumn, such as S. atropurpurea and S. nutans.
Most strobilanthes are tropical plants and so even if they are sufficiently hardy for garden use, they may lack suitable pollinators. S. atropurpurea, one of the hardier forms, has hooded flowers that are clearly insect-pollinated, and indeed they can be visited by bumblebees, occasionally in some profusion.