Beloperone guttata Brandegee
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Justicia brandegeeana Wassh. & L.B. Sm. Red shrimp
Shrimp plant is native to Mexico. It has become naturalized on the Florida penninsula. Many cultivars are available. Identification: Shrimp plants are 3-5' (1-1.5 m) tall and up to 3' (1 m) wide. Leaves are oval, 1-3" (3-7.5 cm) long. Stems and leaves are downy. Branches are topped by red "flowers" that are really bracts—modified leaves. These have a shape and texture suggestive of shrimp, hence the common name. They are about 6" (15 cm) long and initially white, becoming rusty red, pinkish red, pale pink, deep salmon, orange(-ish), pink-bronze, or brownish red—accounts obviously vary. (Cultivars appear in other colors as well.) The bracts grow in segments like sections of shrimp shells, sometimes reaching as much as a foot in length. The real flowers are white, tubular, with throats containing deep red speckles. They are fairly inconspicuous. Online References:
Justicia brandegeeana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Aug 2020.
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4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland Range:
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