Justicia clausseniana is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is native to eastern and southern Brazil, where it occurs in the Atlantic Forest biome.
Taxonomy The species was described by the German botanist Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck and published in Flora Brasiliensis (1847). The specific epithet clausseniana honors the Danish botanist Peder Ferdinand Claussen (1809–1858), who collected extensively in Brazil.
Description Justicia clausseniana is a subshrub or herb. Like other members of the genus Justicia, it possesses opposite, simple leaves and inflorescences typically arranged in spikes or panicles with conspicuous bracts. The flowers are bisexual, zygomorphic, and typically feature a two-lipped corolla, characteristic of the Acanthaceae family. The fruit is a capsule containing seeds often supported on curved retinacula (jaculators).
Distribution and Habitat The species is endemic to Brazil, recorded in the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. It typically inhabits understory environments in dense ombrophilous forests (rainforests) and seasonal semideciduous forests of the Atlantic Forest domain.
Conservation Status As of the latest assessments by the Centro Nacional de Conservação da Flora (CNCFlora) and the IUCN Red List, Justicia clausseniana has not been formally evaluated for a global threat category. However, given its restriction to the Atlantic Forest—a biome that has suffered extensive fragmentation and habitat loss—local populations may face pressure from deforestation and habitat degradation.
