Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Justicia americana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about American Water-willow at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Justicia americana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Justicia americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-05-001:
Justicia americana FAMILY Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dianthera americana
COMMON NAME:
American Water-willow
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_diam2_001_lvd
)
Tim Spira tpsjamericana8
May
)
JK Marlow jkm100611_040
June Stanly County NC
Morrow Mountain State Park
Ascending peduncles, 2-6" long, arrise from upper leaf axils, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmjamericana_lakemarion
June SC
Lake Marion
Flower white to lavender w purple markings, upper lip notched, lower 3-lobed, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0507e_16
July Fayette County WV
Hawks Nest State Park
Calyx lobes linear to lanceolate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0507e_17
July Fayette County WV
Hawks Nest State Park
Gets its common name from the slender, lanceolate, willow-like leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_justicia_americana_3
July
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Justicia americana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Justicia americana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Justicia americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-05-001:
Justicia americana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dianthera americana
1986
Emergent aquatic or semi-aquatic (rooted); Forb
Perennial
Habitat: River and stream beds, in shallow water, often rooted in rocky shallows, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in SC Coastal Plain, where it is perhaps adventive)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Pale violet/ White
(with purple markings)
5-lobed calyx
2-lipped corolla, upper lip notched, lower three-lobed
2 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brown
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama (Lovell, 2007) p18
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p174
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p207
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p078
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p319
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p096
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p021
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p251
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p295
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p393
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p162
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