Justicia spicigera Schltdl. Mexican honeysuckle, mohintli, firecracker bush, orange plume flower
Mexican honeysuckle is native to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Here is a comparison of Mexican honeysuckle and several "true" honeysuckles. |
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Lonicera fragrantissima |
Lonicera japonica |
Lonicera sempervirens |
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Common Name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plant | Shrubs are 3-9½′ (1-3 m) around | A vine up to 16′ (5 m) in size. Young stems are reddish- or light-brown, while older stems are hollow, with peeling bark | Trumpet honeysuckle is a twining vine 3-20′ (91-609 cm) long, depending upon what it has to climb over. Bark is orange-brown, and peeling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flowers | Blooms are a creamy white color, in pairs, appearing in March-April, and very fragrant, with a lemony smell | Flowers are white, showy, fragrant, about 1″ (2.5 cm) in size. They fade to a yellow color, so the vine appears to have white and yellow flowers | In clusters of 2-4, each red or orange with yellow interiors, 1-2″ (2.5-5 cm) long, trumpet-shaped. They appear from April to July. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leaves | Leaves are opposite, roughly oval, with smooth edges | Leaves are opposite, roughly oval-shaped, with smooth edges. Younger leaves may have lobes | Roughly oval in shape, opposite, bluish green, and 1-3″ (2.5-7.6 cm) long. Leaves at the base of flowers are fused at the base. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fruit | Orange to red berries up to ⅜″ (1 cm) across | Black, about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) around | Berries are orange-red to deep red in color | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Range/ Zones | USDA Zones: 4-8 | USDA Zones: 4-9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Wild | Wild | Wild | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occurrence |
Identification: Mexican honeysuckle is an evergreen shrub 3-4′ (91-121 cm) high and 4-6′ (1.2-1.8 m) around. Leaves are roughly oval, soft and velvety, up to 3″ (7.6 cm) long. Flowers are bright orange, tubular in shape, and attractive to hummingbirds.
Online References:
Chris A. Martin's site at Arizona State University
SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network
Justicia spicigera description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.
Range: Zones 9-10: