Shrimp Plant Overview
Shrimp plant is a tropical flower known for its orange-red overlapping bracts. These bracts form a curved spike that looks a little like a shrimp, which gives the plant its common name.
The flower spikes can grow up to about 4 inches long. Their unusual shape makes shrimp plant stand out from many rounder or flatter garden flowers. Instead of one simple bloom, the color appears in layered sections along a curved stem.
Flower Spikes, Color and Growth
Shrimp plant is known scientifically as Justicia brandegeana. The full plant can grow up to about 8 feet tall, though it is often kept smaller with trimming in garden settings.
In Hawaii, shrimp plant works well where gardeners want warm color and a more unusual flower shape. It fits nicely in partly shaded planted areas, near walkways or in mixed tropical gardens where its curved spikes can be seen up close.
Shrimp plant adds texture as much as color, making it a good companion for broader-leaf tropical flowers and foliage plants. Related Hawaii flower pages include red ginger, firecracker plant, ixora and Pink Powderpuff.
