Justicia californica is a deciduous species of flowering shrub native to the deserts of southern California, southern Arizona, and northern Mexico. Its common names include beloperone, chuparosa (from the Spanish: chuparrosa for hummingbird) and hummingbird bush.

It can grow to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and almost as wide. For a short time it bears succulent leaves about 1.5 centimetres (5⁄8 inch) in width. It loses its leaves and then produces plentiful tubular flowers about 2.5–4 cm (1–1+5⁄8 in) long between February and June. These are usually in shades of bright to deep red, or sometimes yellow, with a two-lobed upper lip and a wide three-lobed lower lip that falls open to reveal the inside of the blossom.

It is one of the northernmost distributed species of the mostly tropical genus Justicia. This is a low bush which grows in watered areas of dry, hot sandy regions or rocky terrain of the desert floor, usually below 750 m (2,460 ft) above sea level.

Hummingbirds visit the bush to feed on the nectar. Other birds eat the sugar-rich flower centers. This plant is sometimes cultivated as a landscape ornamental in desert regions for its bright flowers and to attract birds.

The plant is thought to have been eaten by Native Americans of the Southwest.

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