Dicliptera resupinata, Arizona Foldwing
Scientific Name: Dicliptera resupinata
Common Name: Arizona Foldwing
Also Called: Dicliptera (Spanish: Alfalfilla, Ramoneada Flor Morada)
Family: Acanthaceae, Acanthus Family
Synonyms: (Diapedium resupinatum, Diapedium torreyi, Dicliptera pseudoverticillaris, Dicliptera torreyi, Justicia resupinata)
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 2 feet.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; erect and/or ascending; stems branching; slight to heavy pubescent; older plants lose leaves, surrounding bracts become papery.
Leaves: Green; lanceolate; up to 3 inches long.
Flower Color: Purple flower, showy, with upper and lower lips, upper lip with a light purple center and dark purple lines; flowers surrounded by green heart shaped bracts; fruit is a smooth, flat dehiscent capsule.
Flowering Season: April to October; in California it blooms September to May.
Elevation: 3,000 to 6,000 feet.
Habitat Preferences: Variable, dry wooded slopes, rocky hillsides and canyons.
Recorded Range: Rare in the United States where it is found only in south, southeast Arizona and extreme southwest New Mexico.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Dicliptera resupinata.
U.S. Weed Information: No data available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No data available.
Wetland Indicator: No data available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No data available.
Genus Information: 6 species in Dicliptera mostly in the southern parts of the United States. Arizona Foldwing was originally in the genus Justicia (resupinata)
Comments: Another rare plant in the United States, Arizona Foldwing is limited in distribution to elevations above 3,000 in southern Arizona and southwest New Mexico. In Arizona it can be found in a variety of habitats from rocky hillsides, canyons and riparian areas.
Arizona Foldwing is available in plant nurseries that specialize in southwest plants and is often used as a landscape specimen. The genus Dicliptera is Greek for two folded wings, a reference to the bracts surrounding the floral tube.
Arizona is home to 13 species of the Acanthaceae family, tropical and subtropical family of herbs, shrubs or vines from Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America.
In Southwest Desert Flora also see: Thurber’s Desert Honeysuckle, Anisacanthus thurberi; Heath Wrightwort, Carlowrightia linearifolia; Spreading Snakeherb, Dyschoriste schiedeana var. decumbens; and Chuparosa, Justicia californica.