I have been trying desperately to identify a plant that grew at my childhood home. I am hoping someone might be able to help if I just list every fact that I could think of about it. My mother would dearly love to have another and I would love to surprise her! So here goes nothing...

1. We always called it the shrimp plant but it is not this one: Justicia brandegeana.

2. The blossoms before blooming looked like a boiled shrimp in shape and were an orange color and were about 1.5 inches long.

3. After blooming they were a burgundy color inside only and it appeared to be just one petal that had split and opened like a calla lily.

4. The leaves were a medium green and round.

5. It also had thorns.

6. The texture of the blossoms were leathery much like a calla lily.

7. When the plant would die back in the winter it died down to stalks or canes that were about 1/4 to an inch in diameter, my mom said much like a candlestick plant.

8. It bloomed all summer and we live in Memphis TN, and it was in a spot that got full sun.

9. She was driving in her car and saw it in someones yard, stopped and asked the homeowner and he dug up a rooted piece of cane ...so she started it like that.

10. It did not drop seeds and came back every year from the roots.
    
11. It was very hardy and required no special care.
    
12. It attracted a lot of bees and butterflies.
    
13. Every year it would reach a height of 6-7 feet tall and was bushy.

I would appreciate any help that you could give or any advice on where i might continue my search.

Thanks in advance!

Jeri