Of this species of Justicia the only figure extant that we know of is a very indifferent representation of it in Sloane’s Jamaica, evidently from a dried specimen. The fine glossy character of the foliage has furnished it with a specific title. The flowers are abundant in succession, but, like most of this genus, of a deciduous or short-lived character. It was introduced to the British gardens, according to Donn’s Catalogue, in 1793, Our drawing was made from a plant brought from the West Indies by Lord Seaforth, which flowered in August 1808 in the hot-stove of A. B. Lambert, esq.
PLATE DLXXI.
SIDA PATENS.
Spreading Sida.
CLASS XVI. ORDER VIII.
MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. Threads united. Many Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx simplex. Stylus multipartitus. Capsulæ plures, mono-seu tri-spermæ.
Calyx simple. Pointal many-parted. Seed-vessels many, one-or three-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.