Scientific Name: Justicia_americana
Common Name: water willow
Origin: NATIVE
Notes:
J. americana is a hydrophyte and is rare in Iowa. It has been reported a few times in S.E. Iowa—the preferred habitat being sandy/pebbly river bars or shallow waters bordering ponds or streams. The plants spread by rhizomes and are often found in colonies. The species is frequent in Missouri and Illinois.
Additional references:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Field Marks for Identification:
Flowers: June; corolla two lipped—the lower lip with 3 lobes, white with purple markings; calyx lobes slender 2-9 mm long; stamen 2; flowers subtended by triangular bracts less than 2 mm long (smaller than the calyces); inflorescence stalks much longer than the petiole of the subtending leafs; fruit, a 2-locular capsule; seeds usually 4, circular, brown, pebbled.
Leaves: lanceolate tapered at both ends, short petiolate or sessile, up to 8 inches long and one inch wide,
Glossaries of botanical terms: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.