Justicia periplocifolia Jacq.
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Authority
Leonard, Emery C. 1958. The Acanthaceae of Colombia, III. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 31: 323-781.
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Family
Acanthaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Suffrutescent plants, sometimes weakly clambering over small bushes; stems terete or the upper portions obscurely quadrangular, glabrous or the nodes bearing a few minute curved subappressed hairs; leaf blades usually narrowly lanceolate, but sometimes oblong-ovate, up to 16 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide, acuminate, often slenderly so, narrowed, obtuse or rounded at base, moderately firm, entire or undulate, both surfaces glabrous or the costa and lateral veins (5 or 6 pairs) sparingly puberulous, the hairs subappressed, up to 0.15 mm. long, the venation obscure, the cystoliths minute and inconspicuous; petioles up to 1 cm. long, minutely puberulous; flowers sessile, axillary or the uppermost forming dense to lax spikes, these sometimes up to 6 cm. long and 2.5 cm. broad; bracts and bractlets subequal, linear-lanceolate, 15 mm. long, the bracts 1.5 mm. wide, the bractlets 1 mm. wide, both bracts and bractlets slenderly acuminate, sparingly hirtellous, the hairs ca. 0.2 mm. long, usually some of them glandular; calyx 12 mm. long, deeply segmented, sparingly hirtellous, the segments lanceolate, 1.5 mm. wide, slenderly acuminate, white-margined; corolla, up to 4.5 cm. long, rose-red, sparingly pubescent, the hairs up to 0.2 mm. long, some of them glandular, the corolla tube up to 2.5 cm. long, 3 mm. broad at base, narrowed at 4 mm. above base to 2 mm., thence gradually enlarged to 5.5 mm. at mouth, the upper lip conical-ovate, 2 cm. long, erect, 8 mm. wide at base, 1.5 mm. wide at tip, rounded or shallowly marginate, the lower lip spreading, oblong, 10 mm. wide, trilobite at tip, the lobes ovate, 7 mm. long, 4 mm. wide at base, rounded; stamens exserted 15 mm. beyond mouth of the corolla, the filaments flat, glabrous, the anther lobes superposed, the connective 0.5 mm. wide, the upper lobe 2.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, the lower 3.5 mm. long and 1 mm. wide, the base tipped by a white blunt sigmoid tail 1 mm. long and 0.5 mm. wide; style reaching tip of stamens, glabrous or bearing a few minute hairs toward base; capsules clavate, 15 mm. long, 6 mm. broad, 5 mm. thick (the solid basal portion flat, 7 mm. long, 4 mm. wide), obtuse, finely puberulous; retinacula 2.5 mm. long, the tip flat and bidentate; seed subspherical, 3 mm. in diameter, 2 mm. thick, minutely gray tomentose, the coating deciduous leaving the seed reddish brown to black, smooth and nitid.