Justicia brasiliana (Brazilian Justicia)

This South American shrub in the acanthus family has upright or leaning stems with longitudinal grooves and opposite leaves. The blades may be oval, elliptical, or lance-shaped. Flower clusters arise at the branch tips or from the leaf axils, with narrow green bracts beneath the blossoms. The flowers have a long tube and two unequal lips, including pink to magenta lower lobes and a boat-shaped upper lip. Seed capsules narrow between their broader portions. The species is native to Brazil and neighboring parts of southern South America. Photographed in Colombia.