u: + 
ET Te ore > 
—— J— nn 
797 
JUSTICIA carthaginensis. 
Carthagena Justicia. 
"b 
DIANDRIA MONOGYNI A. 
Nat. ord. ACANTHI. Jussieu gen. 102. Div. IT. 
ACATHACEX. Brown prod. 1. 472. 
JUSTICIA. Supra vol. 4. fol. 309. 
Div. Dianthera. 
J. carthaginensis, spicis axillaribus terminalibusque, bracteis oblongis imbri- 
catis ciliatis obtusis. Vahl enumer. 1. 136, 
Justicia carthaginensis. Linn. sp. pl. ed. 2. 2.1663. Jacq. amer. 5. tab. 5. 
Vahl symbol. 2. 14. Willd. sp. pl. 1. 36. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. 1. 38. 
Justicia mirabiloides. Lamarck illustr. 1. 39. 
Caulis herbaceus: Rami oppositi, inferne teretes, glabri, superné obscure 
tetragoni, villosiusculi. Folia petiolata, bi- v. tripollicaria, ovata, basi 
acuminata vel attenuata, acuta, tenera, nervosa, subavenia, pilis raris ad- 
spersa frequentioribus in costá et nervis. Spicz terminales ramorum, plerum- 
que solitarie, interdum gemina bipollicares. Bractex exteriores vir ungui- 
culares, interiores ad basin calycis, cuneate, obtuse, breviores. Stigma ob- 
tusum. 
Variat Foliis ovato-oblongis et elliptico-ovatis: Bracteis exterioribus 
subrotundo-oblongis vel magis oblongis. Anthera inferior basi membranaceo- 
aristata. Vahl en. l. c. , 
Native of the Caribbee Islands; and introduced by Sir 
Joseph Banks in 1792. 
According to Vahl, the species has an herbaceous stem: 
opposite branches, round at the lower part and smooth at 
the upper, obtusely four-cornered, and slightly villous. 
Leaves petioled, from two to three inches long, ovate, ta- 
pered to a point at the base, pointed, tender, nerved, nearly 
without apparent veins, with a few scattered hairs which 
are thicker on the midrib and nerves. Spikes terminating 
the branches, generally single, sometimes double, two 
inches long. Outer bractes scarcely a nail long ; inner ones 
shorter, placed at the bottom of the calyx, cuneate, obtuse. 
Stigma obtuse. It is said to vary with ovately oblong and 
elliptically ovate; with the outer bractes roundish oblong 
or more truly oblong. The lower anther is membranously 
awned at the base. 
VOL. X. G 
