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]

Pachystachys lutea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Pachystachys
Species:
P. lutea
Binomial name
Pachystachys lutea

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]

References

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  1. ^ Sahani, Rani. "Lollipop plant – Care, Uses, Propagation (Best info IN 2024)". Lollipop plant. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Edward F. Gilman; Alan Meerow (October 1999). "Pachystachys lutea" (PDF). Hort.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  3. ^ Wasshausen, D. C. (1986). "The systematics of the genus Pachystachys (Acanthaceae)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 99 (1): 160–185.
  4. ^ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1845337315.
  5. ^ a b "RHS Plantfinder - Pachystachys lutea". Rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  6. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 71. Retrieved 14 April 2018.