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Phlomis purpurea is a shrub of the Lamiaceae family, native to the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, where it grows on dry rocky slopes, in open garrigues and maquis, in full sun exposure, on poor and well-drained soils.
It forms an upright and branched bush, reaching 80 to 120 cm in height, with whitish and woolly stems. The leaves, oval to oblong, are medium green on the upper side and distinctly whitish and tomentose underneath, with a slightly crenate blade and a soft texture to the touch. This contrast between the two leaf surfaces is particularly visible when the wind moves the branches.
What immediately distinguishes this species from all its yellow-flowered congeners is its pink to pink-purple floral color, unique in the genus for Western European species. The bilabiate, velvety flowers, in a warm pink sometimes almost lilac, are gathered in spaced verticils along slender floral stems. The upper lip, distinctly arched and densely hairy, takes on a very particular silky appearance in low-angle light. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July; in cultivation under mild climates, it can start in April and continue.
It requires permeable soil, dry to very dry in summer, in full sun. Provided with winter drainage, it withstands temperatures of -8 to -10°C without difficulty, and possibly beyond; it is the stagnant humidity in the cold season that is more detrimental to it than the cold itself. It performs well under mild Atlantic climates as well as Mediterranean climates.