Justicia californica

Common Name: Hummingbird Bush, Chuparosa, Beloperone
Oˊodham Name: Wipismal Je:j Audio
Group: Shrubs － Desert

Description

Justicia californica is a large shrub consisting of many stiff, normally leafless gray-green stems. It grows in coarse soils and in washes between 1000 and 3500 ft elevation. During Springtime and the Monsoon, the stems produce large triangular leaves. Butterflies and hummingbirds (in Spanish, "Chuparosa") gather nectar from the flowers which are brilliant red, or occasionally, yellow in color.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Asteridae

Order Scrophulariales

Family Acanthaceae － Acanthus family

Genus Justicia L. － water-willow

Species Justicia californica (Benth.) D. Gibson － beloperone

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map