Justicia carthaginensis Jacq. Enum. 11. 1760. Jacquin's "Enumeration" was republished without change again in 1762. The specific epithet means "found in Cartagena."
Adhatoda carthaginensis Nees in DC. Prodr. 11: 403. 1847.
Herbaceous or suffrutescent, up to 1.5 meters high; stems erect or ascending, branched, subquadrangular (the angles rounded), shallowly sulcate, glabrous or rather densely hirtellous, the hairs straight or curved, spreading or retrorse, up to 0.5 mm. long, whitish; leaf blades ovate, elliptic-ovate or broadly lanceolate, 2 to 8 cm. long, 1.5 to 5 cm. wide, short to rather slenderly acuminate with blunt or acutish tips, or sometimes acute, obtuse or even rounded, narrowed or occa- sionally rounded at base and decurrent on the petiole, glabrous to rather densely hirtellous, the lower surface even velvety to touch, the costa and veins (7 or 8 pairs) moderately prominent on both sur- faces, the cystoliths usually 150 to 250μ long; petioles up to 2 cm. long, glabrous to hirtellous; flowers borne in dense terminal bracted spikes 2 to 7 cm. long and about 2 cm. broad; bracts spathulate, usually 10 to 15 mm. long and 2.5 to 6 mm. wide, rounded or obtuse at tip, more or less apiculate, narrowed from about the middle to a slender claw, subglabrous to moderately hirtellous and ciliate, the hairs spreading or ascending, up to 0.5 mm. long, some of them gland- tipped, the cystoliths usually conspicuous; bracts subtending the flowers narrowly spathulate, usually 7 to 10 mm. long and 1 to 3 mm. wide, rounded or obtuse, more or less hirtellous with glandular and eglandular hairs; calyx segments 5, narrowly lanceolate, 10 to 11 mm. long, 1 to 1.5 mm. wide, slenderly pointed, white- margined, more or less hirtellous and ciliate; corollas reddish purple, violet, or rarely white, glabrous to sparingly hirsute, the hairs up to 0.1 mm. long, sometimes a few of them gland-tipped, the tube 1.5 mm. long, 4 mm. broad at base, narrowed at 3 mm. above base to 3 mm., thence gradually expanded to about 4 mm. at mouth, the upper lip erect, triangular-ovate, about 10 mm. long and wide, rounded and notched at tip, the lower lip spreading, up to 17 mm. long, 3- lobed, the middle lobe 8 mm. wide, the lateral ones 7 mm. wide, all ovate and rounded at tip; stamens exserted about 5 mm. beyond mouth of corolla tube, the filaments 11 mm. long, glabrous, the anther lobes 2.2 mm. long, spreading, the upper lobe attached 1 mm. above the short-spurred lower lobe; style 20 to 22 mm. long, sparsely hirtellous toward base; stigma more or less 2-lobed; capsules clavate, 16 mm. long, 6 mm. broad and 3 mm. thick, subobtuse at tip (the solid basal portion 7 mm. long), puberulous, the hairs spreading or the lower ones retrorse; retinacula stout, 3 mm. long and 1 mm. wide, flattened, rounded at tip, this entire or coarsely erose; seeds only slightly flat- tened, almost spherical, puberulous or glabrate, 2.5 to 3 mm. in diam- eter, whitish, or black at maturity.

Justicia carthaginensis is usually found on slopes, in waste places, and thickets, these occasionally coastal. Although more common at lower altitudes, it has been found as high as 1,300 meters.
The species exhibits considerable variation. The upper lip of the corollas of Killip and Smith's No. 14711 was reported to be trans- versely white-barred at center. This may be a common character, but color markings are usually not apparent in dried herbarium material. The width of the bracts is especially variable. For in- stance, those of H. H. Smith's No. 566 from Bonda are fully 7 mm. wide with broadly rounded, almost truncate, and subemarginate apiculate tips, and those of Pennell's No. 2722 are barely 1 mm. wide and sub- acute. The pubescence of most of the specimens cited is sparse, but Haught's No. 4391 from Fonseca is dense, and soft and velvety to the touch. None of these characters, however, are consistent enough to warrant the maintenance of varieties or forms.

ATLÁNTICO: Isolated bush formations about Barranquilla, Lehmann 4062 (K), Torregroza, Araque-M., & Barkley 18At.502 (US), 18At.504 (US), 18At.522 (US); Bro. Elias 351 (US). Puerto Colombia, Bro. Elias 1034 (GH, NY, US); Pennell 12046, Dryish woods along the Isabel López road, near Usiacuri, Dugand & García-Barriga 2343 (US). Woods in Arroyo Cagón, Usiacuri, Dugand & Garcia- Barriga 2354 (US).
BOLÍVAR: Thickets along river at Calamar, Killip & Smith 14711 (GH, NY, US). Ramparts of Cartagena, Scholl 6 (NY). Thicket at Sincelejo, Pennell 4071 (GH, NY, US). Coastal thicket on Tierrabomba Island, Killip & Smith 14148 (GH, NY, US).
CUNDINAMARCA: Open bush formation about La Boca, Lehmann 6107 (K). Puente Natural de Icononzo, near Pandi, Uribe-Uribe 1683 (US); Pennell 2812 (NY). Between Fusagasugá and Pandi, Pennell 2722 (GH, NY). MAGDALENA: On clay soil at Barro Blanco, Haught 4753 (US). Damp places in dry forest near Bonda, H. H. Smith 566 (in part) (Ph, NY, US). Along streams at Cerrejón, Haught 6716 (US). Irrigated lands near seashore at Ciénaga, H. H. Smith 566bis (GH, NY, US). Roadside near Fonseca, Haught 4391 (US). Los Olivos, east of Santa Marta, Giacometto 1000 (US). Rio Frio, Salt "C" (US).