Justicia laevilinguis
Description
Erect to spreading or decumbent perennial, usually aquatic, herb to 1 m tall; often rooting at the lower nodes. Young stem sharply angled, subhexagonal to subquadrangular, ± grooved, glabrous or sparingly pubescent, trichomes septate, spreading or retrorse. Petiole to 3 mm long, glabrous or rather sparingly hirtellous; blade linear or narrowly lanceolate, 8-13 x 1-2.3 cm, margin entire, slenderly acuminate at apex (tip itself obtuse), acute to obtuse to rounded at base, both surfaces and margin glabrous to sparsely pubescent; primary vein and secondary veins (ca. 5 pairs) prominent on lower surface. Inflorescence axillary and terminal slender spikes of 3.5-7 cm long, these unilateral, pedunculate; flowers secund, 1 per axil of bracts; peduncle 3.5-7 cm long, glabrous or nearly so; rachis glabrous, its internodes to 5 mm long at maturity; bracts subtending flowers triangular to triangular-ovate, 0.8-2 x 0.8-1 mm, sharply acute, glabrous, strongly costate; bracteoles subulate, 1-2 x 0.5 mm, glabrous. Flowers sessile; calyx 5-lobed, 7-9 mm long, lobes linear-lanceolate, equal, 7-8 x 0.75-1.2 mm, glabrous and sparingly ciliolate at apex; corolla white, tinged with violet, or dull pink, often with mauve markings or nectar guides on lower lip, 12-15 mm long, sparingly pubescent with erect to flexuose, glandular and eglandular trichomes, tube cylindric, 5-8 mm long and 1.5-2 mm in diam. near midpoint, upper lip erect, obovate, 4-8 x 2-4.5 mm, emarginate, lobes 0.25 mm long, lower lip spreading, obovate, 5.5-8 x 5.5-8 mm, lobes narrowly ovate, 4 x 3-4.5 mm, rounded, delicately veined; stamens exserted ca. 4 mm beyond mouth of corolla tube, filaments glabrous, anther thecae 1-1.75 mm long, subequal, perpendicular to unequally inserted or superposed, glabrous; style exserted ca. 3.5 mm beyond mouth of corolla tube, glabrous, stigma subcapitate, 0.1 mm long, minutely 2-lobed and rounded. Capsule ovate-stipitate, 14-17 x 5-6 x 0.75 mm, glabrate, stipe 4-7 mm long, body ovoid, 10 mm long, retinacula ca. 3 mm long, narrowly cucullate; seeds 4, gray or flecked brown, suborbicular, 5 x 5.5 x 0.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, margin thin, lacerate or dentate at tip and base.
Distribution
Guianas present, tropical South America present
Swampy regions, widely distributed throughout tropical South America (in spite of its great range, specimens are not often collected, probably because it is not abundant in any particular place); 172 collections studied of which 31 from the Guianas (GU: 3; SU: 27; FG: 1).