Justicia

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Acanthaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Justicia L.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Erect or decumbent herbs. Leaves with numerous cystoliths; petioles slender and shorter than blade. Flowers in dense or sparse spikes, racemes, or panicles. Bracts and bracteoles usually awl-shaped; calyx funnel-shaped, usually with 5, awl-shaped sepals; corolla funnel-shaped, zygomorphic and bilabiate; stamens 2, slightly projecting beyond the tube; stigma capitate. Capsule ellipsoid or clubshaped, 2- or 4-seeded.

    Distribution and Ecology - A tropical and subtropical genus with about 300 species.