Justicia periplocifolia Jacq.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Acanthaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Erect herb to 50 cm tall, many-branched from a woody base; stems slender, cylindrical, glabrous and slightly swollen at nodes. Leaf blades 3-12 x 0.4-1.8 cm, lanceolate to linear, membranous, sparsely pubescent, with cystoliths, the apex long acuminate or acute, the base attenuate or obtuse, the margins entire and ciliate; petioles slender, 0.5-1.5 cm long. Flowers borne on dense axillary or terminal spikes; bracts and bracteoles linear, covered with glandular hairs. Calyx funnel-shaped, 8 mm long, with 5 deeply cleft, linear sepals; corolla lavender, 2.5 cm long, funnelshaped, sparsely covered with glandular hairs externally, the lobes 1.2 cm long. Capsule obovoid, turning from green to strawcolored, densely pubescent. Seeds ca. 3 mm long, nearly globose, black, densely covered with minute, woolly, brown hairs.
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Discussion
Justicia reflexiflora Vahl, Enum. PL 1: 157. 1804. Justicia reflexiflora var. glandulosa Eggers, Fl. Croix 80. 1879.
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Distribution
A common weed from waste grounds and thickets. Bethany (B339), Bordeaux Mountain (A1894), Lameshur (A2747). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Lesser Antilles.
West Indies| Puerto Rico South America| West Indies| Cuba South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|