Justicia incana, previously Monechma incanum, has several Afrikaans common names including blouganna (blue ganna) and boegoe-ankerkaroo (buchu anchor Karoo).

The shrubs grow many long, thin, sparsely branched stems. These stems lose their old leaves, remaining leafy only near the stem tips; a useful characteristic for water conservation and as browser fodder. Although the plants become woody at the base, the stems remain mostly thin on the soft upper shrub parts (Van Rooyen and Van Rooyen, 2019; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).