Justicia adhatodoides (Pistol Bush)

Native to South Africa and Eswatini, this evergreen shrub or small tree grows in forests, along streams and on rocky outcrops. Its dense crown carries large, glossy, dark green leaves with pointed tips and wavy margins. Rough, fissured bark covers the woody stems. Abundant white flowers have two lips and mauve to purple markings, and carpenter bees visit them for nectar. The club-shaped seed capsules split explosively when ripe, scattering their seeds with a sharp crack. It can be propagated from seed or cuttings. Photographed in Peru.