Question
My daughter-in-law has three plants of the subject topic. She wants to know if it is a perennial.  The plants did well last year, but did not come back (yet).  The stems are woody, but I forgot to break one to see if they are pliable.

Answer
Hi Jean,
Thanx for your question.  The plant is perennial in zones 10 and 11 which is coastal southern California, South Florida and extreme south Texas.  It is used as an annual elsewhere.  It may die down in the winter in zone 9 and come back when the weather warms up.  I hope this helps.
Tom