(BTW, while floundering about on google for possible answers, I came across this rather fetching description of an Asian houseplant: "Coral Berry - Ardisia Crenata, from southeast Asia. Very slow growing plant. Has shiny green leaves and very small pink or shite flowers followed by brilliant red berries.")

[Projoy] NO. (An elderly gentleman in the back row starts clapping, but his neighbour shushes him). Some Acanthus species are native to Asia, though -- Acanthus ilicifolius for instance.

Incidentally, I may need to make a clarification. When I say "garden plant" I mean something that actually grows in the garden and is outdoors all year round, rather than plants like olive trees for instance, which can be taken outside (in this here climate) in summer but must come in when the snow arrives.

[CdM] NO.

You're looking for a plant of the order Lamiales, with (usually) red or pink flowers, which is native to a tropical part of Asia and doesn't grow very well in British (or Swedish) gardens. It will not eat your pets or children. It's not usually eaten but probably not poisonous, its colour or homeland cannot be divulged from its name -- oh, and it has a Wikipedia entry (since that's how I found it in the first place).