Uruguay. I’ve never met a plant from there before, yet there it was at the nursery: Uruguayan Firecracker Plant (Dicliptera suberecta). The plant, in a four inch pot, was covered with bright red-orange tubular flowers, the type that shout, “hummingbirds!”. It has fuzzy gray leaves, suggesting that it might be a water conserving plant.
Other than that, information is conflicting. Sunset does not recommend it for our climate, but the grower thinks it will be fine. It is recommended for low desert, so at least it can take the heat. It’s probably herbaceous, unless it’s woody. In any case it appears that it will die back in winter. The question is will it reappear next spring?
The question with new plants is always, “what next?”. Will the plant wither and die, thrive in place, or go berzerk and seed itself all over the garden? I remember trying the green form of Pennisetum setaceum when it was first introduced and seeing it rapidly spread wherever the wind could take it. Barleria obtusa was likewise good at seeding itself wherever it could. So, two potentially invasive plants identified, at least. Then there was a choice form of Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) with all-purple flowers. Impossible to get it to survive, even though the neighbors have a plant that’s been there for years.
The only way to find out if something will grow in your landscape is to plant it. If you really like the plant, put it in several locations, since it might like your back yard but not your front area. Our flax lilies hated the front yard, but have thrived in the back, so there must be soil/water/exposure/allelopathic factors at work. There was also a curry plant (Helichrysum) that died, was replaced in the same spot, and lived for years. Go figure.