Megaskepasma erythrochlamys - Meet the Plants - National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database

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Taxonomy:

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys (Acanthaceae)

Common Names:
Brazilian Red Cloak
Red Justicia

Brazilian Plume
Amazon Torch

Classification:

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys Lindau
Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Acanthaceae - Acanthus family
Genus: Megaskepasma Lindau - Brazilian Red Cloak
Species: Megaskepasma erythrochlamys Lindau - Brazilian Red Cloak
(National Plant Database. 2004.)

Description:

The Brazilian Red Cloak is a very showy shrub. Ovate leaves are opposite on flattened stems and can be

hairy or fuzzy. Red Justicia is characterized by red or orange bilaterally symmetrical tubular flowers that occur in clusters. The showy "flower" consists of red bracts surrounding the white true flower.

Geographic Distribution:

Brazilian Red Cloack is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Venezuela.

Status:

The genus encompasses about 300 species, mostly native to several regions of the subtropics. Two are

native to the Sonoran Desert, and one other can tolerate the Southwest's high light and arid climate. Native Justicias are found in gravelly washes and sandy soils of the lower Sonoran "desertscrub" biotic community (sea level to 2,500 feet). Their orange-to-red flowers are common in southeastern California, southern Arizona and as far as Sinaloa and the Baja peninsula of Mexico.

Species Interconnections and Interdependencies:

Most Justicias throughout the tropics and subtropics are pollinated by hummingbirds, some of which have beaks that exactly match the curve of the flower.

(Information for this species compiled and recorded by Camelia Cirnaru, NTBG Consultant.)

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