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 "hummingbird"), hummingbird bush, and beloperone. It can grow to 1.5 m in height and almost as wide. For a short time it bears succulent leaves about 1.5 cm in width. It loses its leaves and then produces plentiful tubular flowers about 2.5-4 cm 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 750 m above sea level. Hummingbirds 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.

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