Justicia californica | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Acanthaceae |
Genus: | Justicia |
Species: | J. californica |
Binomial name | |
Justicia californica | |
Synonyms | |
Beloperone californica |
Justicia californica is a deciduous species of flowering shrub native to the deserts of southern California, southern Arizona, and northern Mexico. Its common names include beloperone, chuparosa (from the Spanish : chuparrosa for hummingbird) and hummingbird bush. [1]
It can grow to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and almost as wide. [1] For a short time it bears succulent leaves about 1.5 centimetres (5⁄8 inch) in width. [1] It loses its leaves and then produces plentiful tubular flowers about 2.5–4 cm (1–1+5⁄8 in) long between February and June. [1] These are usually in shades of bright to deep red, or sometimes yellow, with a two-lobed upper lip and a wide three-lobed lower lip [1] that falls open to reveal the inside of the blossom.
It is one of the northernmost distributed species of the mostly tropical genus Justicia . This is a low bush which grows in watered areas of dry, hot sandy regions or rocky terrain of the desert floor, usually below 750 m (2,460 ft) above sea level. [1]
Hummingbirds visit the bush to feed on the nectar. Other birds eat the sugar-rich flower centers. This plant is sometimes cultivated as a landscape ornamental in desert regions for its bright flowers and to attract birds.
The plant is thought to have been eaten by Native Americans of the Southwest. [1]
Nemophila menziesii, known commonly as baby blue eyes or baby's-blue-eyes, is an annual herb, native to western North America.
Aquilegia canadensis, the Canadian or Canada columbine, eastern red columbine, or wild columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America, prized for its red and yellow flowers. It readily hybridizes with other species in the genus Aquilegia.
Ipomopsis arizonica is a flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to the mountains of the Mojave Desert sky islands from southeastern California east through southern Nevada to northern Arizona, growing at 1500–3100 meters in elevation. It is found in rocky places in the desert, as well as washes.
Frangula californica is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.
Layia platyglossa, commonly called coastal tidytips, is an annual wildflower of the family Asteraceae, native to western North America.
Paeonia californica is a perennial herbaceous plant of 35–70 cm high, that retreats underground in summer, and reoccurs with the arrival of the winter rains. It has lobed leaves, elliptic (cup-shaped) drooping flowers with dark maroon-colored petals, and many yellow anthers. It flowers mostly from January to March, and later develops two to five fruits per flower. Its common name is California peony and it is sometimes also referred to as wild peony. This peony is an endemic of southwestern California (USA), where it is not rare, and northernmost Baja California (Mexico). It grows on dry hillsides in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities of the coastal mountains of Southern and Central California, often as an understory plant.
Impatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam, is an annual plant in the family Balsaminaceae that is native to North America. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side by side with its less common relative, yellow jewelweed.
Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger Thomas. Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas.
Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as fairy duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.
Castilleja angustifolia is a species of wildflower known by the common names northwestern Indian paintbrush and desert Indian paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert, scrublands, and woodlands of western North America. It grows in hot sandy soils and rock crevices in dry conditions.
Trixis californica , the American threefold or American trixis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southwestern United States in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in Mexico in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
Caltha leptosepala, the white marsh marigold, twinflowered marsh marigold, or broadleaved marsh marigold, is a North American species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. The species has regionally distinct variations.
Eriophyllum mohavense, also known as the Mojave woolly sunflower or the Barstow woolly sunflower, is a rare species of small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, found only (endemic) in the Mojave Desert of California.
Malacothrix californica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name California desertdandelion. It is native to California, the western margin of Arizona and Baja California, where it may be found especially in the South Coast, Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the western Mojave Desert.
Diplacus clevelandii is an uncommon species of monkeyflower known by the common name Cleveland's bush monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus clevelandii.
Rudbeckia californica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common name California coneflower.
Scutellaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits.
Monarda bradburiana, the eastern beebalm or Bradbury's beebalm, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to much of the southeastern United States.
Justicia purpusii is a species of flowering plant in the Acanthus family commonly known as Purpus' hummingbird flower or chuparosa. This shrub is characterized by long orange-red tubular flowers that bloom from November to April. It is endemic to the Cape region of Baja California Sur, Mexico, where it is found growing in tropical deciduous forest and thorn scrub in canyons and along wet slopes. It is similar to its more northern relative adapted to drier climates, Justicia californica. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that both species are closely related and form a clade.
Gambelia juncea is a species of flowering shrub in the plantain family commonly known as the Baja California bush snapdragon or Baja bush snapdragon. Gambelia juncea is a highly variable woody perennial to 1 m (3.3 ft) characterized by long, arching, reed-like stems and showy, bright red, two-lipped tubular flowers. Native to the Baja California peninsula and coastal Sonora, this species is widespread in the region across numerous habitats and has several varieties. It was formerly placed in the primarily South American genus Galvezia, but taxonomic studies have supported the reclassification of the two North American species into Gambelia. This species, with a number of cultivars, is widely used as an ornamental shrub for xeriscaping, erosion control, native plant gardens, and wildlife gardens.