White Shrimp Plant

Appearance

An attractive, shrubby herb that produces an abundance of upright, compact white-violet inflorescences with overlapping, papery, cream to pale green (sometimes with a tinge of pink) bracts that have distinct green net veins.
Leaves are simple, entire, opposite, ovate (egg-shaped; oval) to elliptic (in a form of an ellispe; narrow at the ends and broad near the center), up to 22 cm long and 12 cm wide.
SStems herbaceous, rigid, free-branching, green, often with a purple tinge, may be rough to the touch. Flower: Inflorescences consist of green-striped cream to pale green (sometimes with a tinge of pink) bracts, upright, compact, with flowers aging from white to violet; corolla two-lipped, mauve, with a white spot on the lower lip. Fruit: Fruits are 2 lobed capsules.

Naming

The genus epithet 'Justicia' was named after James Justice, a horticulturalist from Scotland (1730-1763). The species 'betonica' mean betony-like, resembling Betonica, a plant genus which come from a name Vettonica, in Pliny for a medicinal plant from Vectones (Vettones), Spain.

Other common Names:
paper plume, shrimp plant, squirrel tail, squirrel's tail, squirreltail, white shrimp, white shrimp plant

Distribution

Tropical Asia, South Africa, South America

Habitat

Likes full sun to bright indirect sunlight and prefers rich soil that retains water yet drains well. Keep soil moist but allow soil to become moderately dry between waterings. Feed once every 2 to 3 weeks with an acidic water soluble fertiliser during growth. Prune plant back occasionally to maintain a compact shape as plant tends to become leggy. Pinch to a node when flowers have bloomed and withered. Propagate by stem cuttings, which can be placed in indirect sunlight for 2 to 4 weeks in sandy media with bottom heat. Repot into a regular mix when cuttings have rooted and established.

Predators

Plant may be prone to spider mites and mealy bugs.

Uses

Ornamental.
Medicinal: An infusion is prepared from the leaves and offered as a drink in Kenya for snake-bite. A poultice made from the leaves is used to treat to boils in Ceylon, and to swellings in Malaya. Leaves are also prepared and mixed in Ceylon for diarrhoea. The Sukuma of Tanganyika, prepare an ointment from the plant-ash in butter to treat scaly skin. Others: Leaves are boiled to a soup by cattle-folk in Uganda to cows-in-milk to drink as galactagogue (agent that promotes milk flow).