Pachystachys lutea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Acanthaceae |
Genus: | Pachystachys |
Species: | P. lutea
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Binomial name | |
Pachystachys lutea Nees
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Pachystachys lutea, known as the golden shrimp plant or lollipop plant,[1] is a tropical, soft-stemmed evergreen shrub between 0.5 and 2.5 meters tall, native to Peru.[2][3] The zygomorphic, long-throated, short-lived white flowers emerge sequentially from overlapping bright yellow bracts on racemes that are produced throughout the warm months.[2]
The Latin specific epithet lutea means "yellow".[4]
It is cultivated as an ornamental, but in cold temperate regions it requires protection from temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F).[5] It has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6]