Species · genus Justicia · Acanthaceae

Mohintli

Justicia spicigera Schltdl.

Also known as: Mexican-indigo · Mexican Honeysuckle

Growth habit

shrub

Native range

Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest

Justicia spicigera — reference photo — no rights reserved · CC0

Cultivars of J. spicigera

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

No named cultivars catalogued under J. spicigera 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.

A shrub called mohintli

Justicia spicigera, known in gardens as Mexican honeysuckle and locally as mohintli, is a shrub in the acanthus family. It belongs to the genus Justicia, whose members are typically evergreen shrubs or perennials with simple leaves and spikes of tubular, two-lipped flowers set off by conspicuous bracts.

Source: RHS

Native to dry tropics

This shrub's native range runs from Mexico down through Central America to northwestern Colombia, and it is also found from the Bahamas to Hispaniola. It grows chiefly in the seasonally dry tropical biome, and it has a long history of use as a medicine in its home range. Beyond its native territory it has been introduced to places such as Florida, Bangladesh, the Marianas, and Trinidad-Tobago.

Source: Kew

A name with many aliases

Justicia spicigera carries a tangle of botanical synonyms, including Jacobinia ghiesbreghtiana, Sericographis mohintli, Justicia ghiesbreghtiana, and Jacobinia mohintli, a sign of how often it has been reclassified since it was first published in 1832. It is also sold and known under the common name mohintli alongside Mexican honeysuckle.

Source: RHS

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

13–32 °C

Soil mix

Well-draining loamy potting mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings root easily in mix

Fertilizing

Light monthly feed in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Orange tubular blooms in bright light and warmth

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.

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 Mohintli yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.