Longflower Tube Tongue
Justicia longii
Family: Acanthaceae
Small semi-evergreen subshrub, 1.5’ tall and wide. Long, aromoatic white flowers appear spring through fall.
Grow in full to part sun, with moderate water with good drainage, hardy to 25° F.
Flowers used by both hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths—probably moths are the primary pollinator since these flowers fade during the day. These plants are often browsed back in the wild by mammals. Butterfly larval food plant for many butterflies, the following are most likely:
Malachite (Siproeta stelenes ssp. biplagiata)
Rosita Patch (Chlosyne rosita)
Chara Checkerspot (Dymasia dymas ssp. chara)
Photo by Sue Carnahan, SEINET
Justicia longii on iNaturalist
There are 923 species which are native to tropical to warm temperate regions of the Americas, India, and Africa. Justicia is named for James Justice (1698–1763) a Scottish botanist and horticulturalist, while longii is an honorific for Dr. Robert W. Long.
Found in rocky washes and arroyos in desert scrub from 3,000-5,000 ft. in southern Arizona from the Gila River in Graham County, south to Sinaloa, Mexico, with a disjunct population in Texas.