''Justicia purpusii'' is a species of flowering plant in the Acanthus family commonly known as Purpus' hummingbird flower or chuparosa. This

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

is characterized by long orange-red

tubular Tubular may refer to: *having the form of a hollow cylinder, or tube *having the form of a cylinder *''Tubular'', a television-related entertainment blog on the ''Houston Chronicle'' website *''Tubular'', a level in the video game ''Super Mario Wor ...

flowers that bloom from November to April. It is endemic to the Cape region of

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

, Mexico, where it is found growing in tropical deciduous forest and thorn scrub in canyons and along wet slopes. It is similar to its more northern relative adapted to drier climates, ''

Justicia californica ''Justicia californica'' is a deciduous species of flowering shrub native to the deserts of southern California, southern Arizona, and northern Mexico. Its common names include chuparosa (or chiparosa, both colloquial Spanish terms for "hummingbi ...

''. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that both species are closely related and form a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Description

This species is a shrub covered in tomentose and villous

hairs Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine ...

throughout. The foliage consists of opposite ovate to elliptic leaves with mostly entire margins. The lower leaves measure long by wide, and are connected to the stem by petioles long. The upper leaves gradually have shorter petioles until they become sessile cordate to broadly ovate bracts. These bracts are broader than they are long and have a clasping base. Emerging from the

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

s of the bracts are the flowers. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

is divided into five narrow segments long. The

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

is long, with an erect upper lip and a 3-lobed lower lip. The seeds are ash-colored, nearly spherical, and rugose on the sides. This species can be distinguished from its close relative ''

'' by the flowers that emerge from larger, persistent bracts and its non-tropical distribution. ''J. californica'' meanwhile is restricted to more arid, desert climates and has small, insignificant bracts and shorter calyx lobes.

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to the Cape region of

, Mexico, the southernmost part of the Baja California peninsula. It is found in the

tropical dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

and thorn scrub of the area, and is typically seen growing in the shady canyons and their rocky beds and on wet slopes, steep walls, hillsides, and ridges from in elevation.

References

External links

''Justicia purpusii'' at SEINet

''Justicia purpusii'' — UC Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15334695 purpusii Flora of Baja California Sur Natural history of Baja California Sur Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Endemic flora of Mexico Taxa named by Townshend Stith Brandegee