''Justicia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

. It is the largest genus within the family, with over 900 accepted species. They are

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions of the Americas, India, and Africa. The genus serves as host to many butterfly species, such as ''

Anartia fatima ''Anartia fatima'', the banded peacock, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is commonly found in south Texas, Mexico, and Central America but most studied in Costa Rica. This butterfly prefers subtropical climates and moist areas, such a ...

''. Common names include water-willow and shrimp plant, the latter from the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s, which resemble a

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

in some species. The generic name honours Scottish horticulturist James Justice (1698–1763). They are closely related to '' Pachystachys''.

Description

They are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s and

shrubs A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

with leaves that are often strongly veined, but they are primarily cultivated for their showy, tubular flowers in shades of white, cream, yellow, orange, violet, or pink. Excepting ''J. americana'' L., they are not

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

below , so must be grown under glass in frost-prone areas.

Selected species

915 species are accepted. Selected species include: ''J. brandegeeana'' (formerly ''Beloperone guttata'', commonly called shrimp plant) is native to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is hardy to −4 °C, but often recovers in the spring after freezing back in USDA Plant Zone 8a. ''J. carnea'' (formerly ''Jacobinia carnea'', common names including Brazilian plume flower, flamingo flower, and jacobinia) is native to South America in southern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is hardy to −2 °C but often recovers in the spring after freezing back in USDA Plant Zone 8a. ''J. procumbens'' is a procumbent herb with angular stems, swollen at the nodes, with small, ovate leaves; small, purple flowers in terminal spikes; inserted didynamous stamens; and shortly bilobed stigmata.

Formerly placed here

* '' Dianthera americana'' (as ''Justicia americana'' (L.) Vahl) * '' Dianthera angustifolia'' (Nees) Benth. & Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks. (as ''Justicia angustifolia'' ) * '' Dianthera incerta'' (as ''Justicia austrocapensis'' T.F.Daniel) * '' Nicoteba betonica'' (as ''Justicia betonica'' ) * '' Rostellularia procumbens'' (as ''Justicia procumbens'' L., ''J. hirtella'' , ''J. japonica'' Thunb., and ''J. media'' )

Gallery

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Acanthaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus