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.
Plants: Mexican honeysuckle is an evergreen shrub 3–5′ (91–152 cm) high and 4–6′ (1.2–1.8 m) around.
Leaves: Roughly oval, with sharp tips, soft and velvety, 1½–6 ⨉ 1–2″ (4–16 ⨉ 3–6 cm), on petioles ⅛–⅜″ (5–10 mm) long.
Flowers: Bright orange clusters of tubular flowers are attractive to hummingbirds as well as people. Each flower is a tube 1–1¾″ (3–4.5 cm) long.
Fruits: An oblong capsule with acute apex, ½–¾″ (1.5–2 cm) long, initially green, then black when ripe.
Habitats: Deciduous and evergreen tropical and subtropical forests and thickets, both moist and dray.
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A comparison of Mexican honeysuckle and several “true” honeysuckles. |
Online References:
4/10/2015 · Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida · ≈ 1 × 1′ (39 × 31 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Biscayne National Park, Florida City, Florida · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Biscayne National Park, Florida City, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 11 cm) 
5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Arizona · ≈ 4 × 3″ (10 × 8 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Biscayne National Park, Florida City, Florida · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 12 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Biscayne National Park, Florida City, Florida · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
4/10/2015 · Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida · ≈ 2 × 1′ (59 × 39 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Acanthaceae | Acanthus family, of tropical herbs and shrubs |
| Genus | Justicia | Named for James Justice, a Scottish horticulturist |
| Species | spicigera | From Latin spica, “spike,” and gero, “to carry,” with reference to the inflorescences |
Justicia spicigera description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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