Consortium of Pacific Herbaria - Justicia brandegeeana

Justicia brandegeeana Wassh. & L.B. Sm.
Family: Acanthaceae shrimpplant [Beloperone guttata Brandegee]	Description Resources Staples, George W. and Derral R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora. Plants Cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and Other Tropical Places. Bishop Museum Press. Honolulu, HI. pp. 908. Justicia brandegeeana Wasshausen & L. B. Smith [Syn.: Beloperone guttata T. Brandegee], shrimp plant Sprawling shrub 3-4' tall; stems rather weak. Lf blades ovate, to 3" long, both sides sofdy hairy, base narrowed into peti. Infl a terminal, drooping spike; bracts prominent, overlapping, cordate, ca 1" long, bronze to rose or greenish yellow. Flws peeping out from between bracts; cor narrowly tubular, deeply 2-lipped, white, lower lip red-dotted. Frt (rare in Hawai'i) club-shaped, ca 0.5" long. Native to Mexico, shrimp plant is a popular tropical and subtropical ornamental introduced to American horticulture around 1936. Its common name alludes to the similarity between its drooping, reddish inflorescence and cooked shrimp. The species is known to escape from cultivation and has become naturalized in southern Florida and elsewhere, but it does not yet appear to have escaped in Hawai‘i. A color form with yellow bracts is recognized as ‘Yellow Queen’ [Syn.: Beloperone lutea invalid], yellow shrimp plant; another with chartreuse green bracts is locally called ‘Chartreuse’. The inflorescences of both color forms are sometimes used in lei making. Shrimp plant is used in the landscape as a low hedge, border plant, massed planting, container specimen, or high ground cover. Plants are not particular as to soil type, although an organically rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5-6.5 is ideal. They thrive in dry sites if weekly deep watering is provided. Protection from strong winds and salt spray is also helpful in promoting attractive plants; this is especially true for the yellow-bracted form, which sunburns easily if grown in fully exposed situations. Because they tend to become leggy, plants require regular pruning to maintain a full, compact growth form. Pinching the shoot tips of young plants two or three times promotes branching and a compact habit. Application of a general garden fertilizer promotes luxuriant new growth. Shrimp plant is easily propagated by short tip cuttings or division of old clumps; seed is rarely produced and is not used in Hawai'i. EOL: http://eol.org/pages/596718/details
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