''Justicia californica'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

species of flowering shrub native to the deserts of

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

southern Arizona Southern Arizona is a region of the United States comprising the southernmost portion of the State of Arizona. It sometimes goes by the name Gadsden or Baja Arizona, which means "Lower Arizona" in Spanish. Geography Although Southern Arizona ...

, and

northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( es, el Norte de México ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California ...

. Its common names include chuparosa (or chiparosa, both colloquial

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

terms for "hummingbird"), hummingbird bush, and beloperone. It can grow to in height and almost as wide. For a short time it bears succulent

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

about in width. It loses its leaves and then produces plentiful tubular flowers about long between February and June. These are usually in shades of bright to deep red, or sometimes yellow, with a two-lobed upper lip and a wide three-lobed lower lip that falls open to reveal the inside of the blossom. It is one of the northernmost distributed species of the mostly tropical genus '' Justicia''. This is a low bush which grows in watered areas of dry, hot sandy regions or rocky terrain of the desert floor, usually below above sea level.

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s visit the bush to feed on the nectar. Other birds eat the sugar-rich flower centers. This plant is sometimes cultivated as a landscape ornamental in desert regions for its bright flowers and to attract birds. The plant is thought to have been eaten by Native Americans of the Southwest.

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileWildflower accountPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3006248 californica Flora of Arizona Flora of California Flora of Mexico Plants described in 1844 Flora without expected TNC conservation status