Justicia spicigera Schlecht., Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Mexican indigo, mohintli

Spanish: mohintli, yaxan

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Erect or scandent, usually densely branched shrubs, commonly 1-1.5 meters tall, the branches bifariously pubescent or almost glabrous; leaves short-petiolate, the blades ovate ot oblong-lanceolate, mostly 5-18 cm. long, 2-6 cm. wide, acute to long-acuminate, acute to rounded at the base, often abruptly decurrent, often blackening when dried, almost glabrous or more or less pilose, especially on the costae and veins and on or near the margins; inflorescences axillary and terminal, usually shorter than the leaves, basically spicate, but the spikes usually branching 2 or 3 times, glabrous or puberulent, flowers secund; bracts triangular, about 1.5 mm. long; calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, 2-3 mm. long; corolla 3-3.5 cm. long, appearing fusiform when unopened, commonly orange but sometimes pale red or scarlet, glabrous outside, the lips about 1.5 cm. long, the posterior lip narrow, straight, entire, the anterior lip trilobate, the lobes rounded, 2-3 mm. long; anthers about 2 mm. long, thecae nearly parallel; pollen 2-porate, isopolar, bilateral, with 2 rows of insulae on either side of each aperture; capsule glabrous"  (Standley, Williams & Gibson, 1974; 24(10/4)399-400).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala (native), "damp or dry thickets, forest, hedgerows, near sea level to 1,800 m., and found in cultivation in almost all inhabited parts"  (Standley, Williams & Gibson, 1974; 24(10/4)399-400).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico and Central America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 257)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1986) (voucher ID: PTBG 1309) Taxon name on voucher: Justicia spicigera
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 172) May be sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2002) (p. 4) Voucher cited: K. Nagata 2671 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2002) (p. 4) Voucher cited: G. Ray & E. Gibney 100 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 9) Vouchers cited: MacKee 22772, Suprin in MacKee 45650

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Gibson, Dorothy Nash (1974) (pp. 24(10/4)399-400)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Justicia spicigera is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Justicia spicigera as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Justicia spicigera may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 1986. Voucher specimen #PTBG1309(Flynn, Tim 1619).

Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Gibson, Dorothy Nash. 1974. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part X, Nos. 3-4. Chicago Natural History Museum. pp. 153-466.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2002. New Hawaiian plant records for 2000. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 68:3-18.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).