Golden shrimp plant

Description

Pachystachys lutea, known as the golden shrimp plant or lollipop plant, is a tropical, soft-stemmed evergreen shrub between 0.5 and 2.5 meters tall, native to Peru. The zygomorphic, long-throated, short-lived white flowers emerge sequentially from overlapping bright yellow bracts on racemes that are produced throughout the warm months. The Latin specific epithet lutea means “yellow”. It is cultivated as an ornamental, but in cold temperate regions it requires protection from temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F). It has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. The genus name Pachystachys is derived from the Greek for thick spike in reference to the flowering spikes. The species name coccinea is derived from the Latin for scarlet in reference to the deep red flowers. Pachystachys is a genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to rainforest in the Caribbean and Central and South America. They are evergreen perennials and shrubs bearing prominent terminal spikes of flowers with brightly coloured bracts. The name Pachystachys comes from the Greek for "thick spike", referring to the flower heads. The genus is closely related to Justicia. The species P. coccinea, P. lutea and P. spicata are found in cultivation. They can be grown outside in subtropical gardens in areas where the temperature does not fall below 10 °C (50 °F). Elsewhere, they can be grown under glass or as houseplants.