Species · genus Justicia · Acanthaceae

Shrimp Plant

Justicia brandegeeana Wassh. & L.B.Sm.

Also known as: Shrimpplant · False Hop · Honolulu-salvia · Mexican Shrimp-plant · Shrimpbush

Growth habit

subshrub or shrub

Native range

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast

Reference · J. brandegeeana

Cultivars of J. brandegeeana

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under J. brandegeeana yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Justicia brandegeeana is a soft-stemmed subshrub from the seasonally warm woodlands of Mexico and Central America, where it grows in dappled light at the forest edge. It wants bright indirect light and evenly moist but never soggy soil; water when the top inch of mix has dried, more often in active growth and less in winter. It appreciates ordinary household humidity and benefits from pinching to stay full rather than leggy.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–27 °C

Soil mix

Loose, well-draining peat-based potting mix

Propagation

Softwood stem cuttings root readily in water or mix

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed every 2-4 weeks while growing

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Shrimp-like bracts nearly year-round in good light

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Shrimp Plant yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.