#acanthaceae

Yellow-vein Eranthemum (Pseuderanthemum maculatum) greeting the sun on the southern bank of the Marina Reservoir. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

American Water Willow

Justicia americana

This native perennial loves water and can be found in very moist habitats. Its native range spans from Texas, throughout much of the eastern United States, to southeastern Canada. I found this blooming plant with purple and white bicolored flowers among a small colony growing in the middle of a shallow creek.

June 6, 2023

Shannon County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

Thunbergia alata

This tropical vine is native to East Africa, and it is notable for its profuse production of flowers, which can be yellow, orange or various shades of apricot, always with a dark eye. At the Ruth Bancroft Garden, our vines put on a big flower display in the fall, but eventually this is halted by cold weather, at which time we cut it back and wait for its growth to resume in the spring. It belongs to the Acanthus Family.

AKA White Mangrove, and mānawa in New Zealand. Currently in the Acanthaceae family, although that remains contentious.

Native to Africa's East coast, the Arabian Peminsula, all Australian states, and parts of New Zealand. Grows remarkably far south for a mangrove.

Grey mangroves can be found as shrubs, like those in my photos, or up to 14 metres tall in tropical regions. The gnarled branches have smooth light-grey flaky bark. They excrete excess salt through glands on the leaves. Like other Avicennia species they have aerial roots to absorb oxygen and anchor the plant when tides come in. Fruit often germinates on the tree, falling as a seedling that may spear into the mud of the estuary or float away on the outgoing tide.