Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Justicia ovata
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This is a less familiar species than is its "cousin" (J. americana), in part because it often grows in mosquito-infested places. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Justicia ovata var. ovata
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Justicia ovata
INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Justicia ovata
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-05-002:
Justicia ovata FAMILY Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Justicia ovata
COMMON NAME:
Coastal Plain Water-willow, Looseflower Water-willow
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_diov2_001_lvd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Justicia ovata
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Justicia ovata var. ovata
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Justicia ovata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Justicia ovata
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-05-002:
Justicia ovata
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Justicia ovata
1987
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: swamps, marshes, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pale violet/ White
5-lobed calyx
2-lipped corolla, upper lip notched, lower three-lobed
2 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Brown
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p444
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p319
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p124
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p096
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p021
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p252
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p295
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".