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Justicia angusta
Pineland Waterwillow
Narrowleaf Waterwillow
Florida native
A wildflower of wet flatwoods and marshes throughout much of the Florida peninsula, plus some Big Bend and central panhandle counties. The range extends into Georgia.
This perennial has opposite linear to narrowly lanceolate leaves. The flowers are pale purple to violet and two-lipped. The upper lip is two lobed and curls back, the lower lip is three lobed and having a lighter center with dark purple markings. The corolla is 15-30mm (~5/8 to 1-1/8 in.) long.
The genus is named in honor of Scottish botanist James Justice (1698-1763). The species name angusta means narrow, referring to the leaves.
Justicia angusta is a member of the Acanthaceae - Acanthus family.
Other species of the Justicia genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Justicia cooleyi - COOLEY'S WATERWILLOW
Justicia ovata var. ovata - LOOSEFLOWER WATERWILLOW
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jul 09, 2018
