:Justicia spicigera
{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image=Mexican honeysuckle -- Justicia spicigera.jpg
|image_caption=Mexican honeysuckle: Justicia spicigera
|image2=Justicia spicigera 1.jpg
|taxon = Justicia spicigera
|authority = Schltdl. (1832)
|synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true
|title={{small|Synonymy}}
|Aphelandra ghiesbreghtiana {{small|(Lem.) Lem. (1848)}}
|Cyrtanthera ghiesbreghtiana {{small|(Lem.) Decne. (1848)}}
|Drejera willdenowiana {{small|Nees (1847)}}
|Jacobinia atramentaria {{small|(Benth.) S.F.Blake (1917)}}
|Jacobinia ghiesbreghtiana {{small|(Lem.) Benth. & Hook.f. (1876)}}
|Jacobinia mohintli {{small|Hemsl. (1882), nom. superfl.}}
|Jacobinia neglecta {{small|A.Gray (1878)}}
|Jacobinia scarlatina {{small|S.F.Blake (1917)}}
|Jacobinia spicigera {{small|(Schltdl.) L.H.Bailey (1915)}}
|Justicia atramentaria {{small|Benth. (1840)}}
|Justicia ghiesbreghtiana {{small|Lem. (1847)}}
|Justicia ghiesbreghtii {{small|Lem. (1848), orth. var.}}
|Justicia liebmanii {{small|V.A.W.Graham (1988)}}
|Justicia mohintli {{small|Moc. & Sessé ex Nees (1847), pro syn.}}
|Justicia scarlatina {{small|(S.F.Blake) V.A.W.Graham (1988)}}
|Sericographis {{small|ghiesbreghtiana (Lem.) Nees (1847)}}
|Sericographis {{small|neglecta Oerst. (1855)}}
|Sericographis {{small|mohintli Nees (1847), nom. superfl.}}
}}
|synonyms_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:133119-2 Justicia spicigera Schltdl.] Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
|}}
Justicia spicigera (Mexican honeysuckle, firecracker bush, moyotle, moyotli, mohintli, muicle, trompetilla, yaxan,{{cite web |title=Justicia spicigera - Useful Tropical Plants |url=http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Justicia+spicigera |website=tropical.theferns.info |accessdate=24 March 2019}} or ych-kaan in Mayan) is an evergreen shrub with tubular orange flowers.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080220014717/http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Justicia_spicigera.html Justicia spicigera]: University of Arizona Pima County Cooperative Extension The species is native to the Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Honduras, and Mexico.
Description
Muicle shrubs grow perennially in full sun or partial shade, and typically reach heights of between 2–5 feet. Their leaves are around 2 inches long, and their bright orange flowers attract hummingbirds.{{cite book |last1=Kress |first1=Stephen W. |title=Hummingbird Gardens: Turning Your Yard Into Hummingbird Heaven |date=2007 |publisher=Brooklyn Botanic Garden |isbn=9781889538334 |pages=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MP7MgX4QrKoC&q=justicia+spicigera+hummingbird&pg=PA7 |accessdate=24 March 2019 |language=en}} They prefer warm weather, but can tolerate temperatures down to about -3 °C (26 °F).{{Cite web|url=http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/justiciaspicigera.html|title=Arizona State University Virtual Library of Arizona Landscape Plants: Justicia Spicigera|last=Martin|first=Chris A|website=Arizona State University}} Muicle is known to have purple, pink, green, and orange colors when the leaves are boiled. Different pH values on muicle extracts modified the structure of the molecules and solubility, so depending on the pH of the plant, the color will vary. {{Cite web|last=Baqueiro Pena|first=Itzamna|date=July 2013|title=Antioxidant and Coloring Characteristics of Muicle (Justicia spicigera)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267270236|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=ResearchGate}}
=Phytochemicals=
The leaves and flowers contain various phytochemicals, including carbohydrates, pectins, flavonoids, tannins, essential oils, and minerals.
Uses
Muicle can be made into a tea by boiling the leaves in water. As the leaves boil, they dye the water deep blue or indigo, explaining why the plant has also been traditionally used to make dye.{{cite web |title=Justicia spicigera Schltdl. |url=http://hortuscamden.com/plants/view/justicia_spicigera_schltdl |publisher=Hortus Camdenensis, Colin Mills|date=2012|accessdate=24 March 2019}} Muicle has been used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments.{{cite journal |last1=Guerrero-Beltrán |first1=José A. |last2=Baqueiro-Peña |first2=Itzamná |title=Uses of Justicia spicigera in medicine and as a source of pigments |journal=Functional Foods in Health and Disease |date=6 September 2014 |volume=4 |issue=9 |pages=401–414 |doi=10.31989/ffhd.v4i9.150 |url=https://www.ffhdj.com/index.php/ffhd/article/view/150/320 |accessdate=24 March 2019 |language=en |issn=2160-3855|doi-access=free }} Muicle is often used as a brightening agent in laundry.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{GRIN | accessdate=2008-03-01}}
- [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=JUSP4 USDA Plants Database: Justicia spicigera Schltdl.]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3012948}}
Category:Plants described in 1832
Category:Taxa named by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal
{{Acanthaceae-stub}}