Ruellia

Ruellia
Ruellia tuberosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Acanthaceae
Subfamily:	Acanthoideae
Tribe:	Ruellieae
Genus:	Ruellia L.
Species
Many, see text
Synonyms
Aphragmia Nees Arrhostoxylum Nees Brunoniella Bremek. Copioglossa Miers Cryphiacanthus Nees Dinteracanthus C.B.Clarke ex Schinz Dipteracanthus Nees Endosiphon T.Anderson ex Benth. & Hook.f. Gymnacanthus Nees Gymnacanthus Oerst. Leptosiphonium F.Muell. Nothoruellia Bremek. Pararuellia Bremek. Pattersonia J.F.Gmel. Sclerocalyx Nees Stenoschista Bremek. Stephanophysum Pohl Tacoanthus Baill.

Ruellia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (Petunia) although both genera belong to the same euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle, herbalist and physician to Francis I of France and translator of several works of Dioscorides.

Apart from the numerous formerly independent genera nowadays considered synonymous with Ruellia, the segregate genera Blechum, Eusiphon, Polylychnis and Ulleria are often included in Ruellia. Acanthopale, however, is considered a distinct genus.

Ruellias are popular ornamental plants. Some are used as medicinal plants, but many are known or suspected to be poisonous. Their leaves are food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), typically Nymphalinae and in particular members of their tribe Junoniini. Nymphalinae using Ruellia as host plants include the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), recorded on R. nodiflora, the Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias), recorded on R. tuberosa, and th Malachite Butterfly (Siproeta stelenes) and Australian Lurcher (Yoma sabina), which are recorded on several species.

File:Ruellia elegans in Kadavoor.jpg

Ruellia elegans

File:Ruellia prostrata syn Dipteracanthus prostrata (bell weed or black weed) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8317.jpg

bell weed (Ruellia prostrata)

File:Gardenology.org-IMG 3026 rbgs11jan.jpg

Ruellia dipteracanthus

Selected species

• Ruellia acutangula
• Ruellia affinis (Schrad.) Lindau
• Ruellia angustior
• Ruellia asperula
• Ruellia blumei Steud.
• Ruellia brevicaulis
• Ruellia brevifolia (Pohl) C.Ezcurra – tropical wild petunia, red Christmas pride
• Ruellia capitata
• Ruellia caroliniensis (J.F.Gmel.) Steud.
• Ruellia cernua Roxb.
• Ruellia chartacea (T.Anderson) Wassh.
• Ruellia ciliatiflora Hook.
• Ruellia ciliosa Pursh
• Ruellia colorata (might belong in R. trivialis)
• Ruellia currorii
• Ruellia densa
• Ruellia devosiana Jacob-Makoy ex E.Morren
• Ruellia dielsii
• Ruellia diffusa
• Ruellia dioscoridis
• Ruellia dissitifolia
• Ruellia drymophila Hand.-Mazz.
• Ruellia elegans Poir.
• Ruellia eriocalyx
• Ruellia eurycodon
• Ruellia flava
• Ruellia formosa
• Ruellia fulgida Andrews
• Ruellia geminiflora – ipecacuanha-da-flor-roxa (Portuguese)
• Ruellia glanduloso-punctata
• Ruellia hapalotricha
• Ruellia helianthemum
• Ruellia humilis Nutt. – fringeleaf wild petunia, plains petunia, fringeleaf ruellia, hairy ruellia, low ruellia, zigzag ruel

• Ruellia hypericoides
• Ruellia incomta
• Ruellia insignis
• Ruellia kuriensis
• Ruellia macrantha (Nees) Gower – Christmas pride
• Ruellia macrophylla Vahl
• Ruellia makoyana Hort.Makoy ex Closon
• Ruellia menthoides
• Ruellia neesiana
• Ruellia nitens
• Ruellia noctiflora
• Ruellia nudiflora (Engelm. & A.Gray) Urb.
• Ruellia patula
• Ruellia paulayana
• Ruellia pohlii
• Ruellia portellae (might belong in R. trivialis)
• Ruellia prostrata Poir.
• Ruellia puri
• Ruellia rasa
• Ruellia rosea (Nees) Hemsl.
• Ruellia rufipila
• Ruellia salicifolia
• Ruellia simplex C.Wright
• Ruellia sindica
• Ruellia squarrosa (Fenzl) Cufod.
• Ruellia stenandrium
• Ruellia strepens L. (might belong in R. trivialis)
• Ruellia tomentosa
• Ruellia trachyphylla
• Ruellia trivialis
• Ruellia tuberosa L. – minnie root, fever root, snapdragon root, sheep potato, popping pod, duppy gun, cracker plant (syn. R. picta)
• Ruellia verbaciformis
• Ruellia villosa
• Ruellia vindex
• Ruellia zeylanica

Formerly placed here

Numerous plants, mainly Acanthaceae, are former members of Ruellia. Some examples are:

• Asystasia gangetica subsp. micrantha (Nees) Ensermu (as R. intrusa Forssk.)
• Asystasia gangetica subsp. gangetica (as R. zeylanica J.Koenig ex Roxb.)
• Blepharis ciliaris (L.) B.L.Burtt (as R. ciliaris L. or R. persica Burm.f.)
• Dyschoriste oblongifolia (Michx.) Kuntze (as R. oblongifolia Michx.)
• Hemigraphis repanda (L.) Hallier f. (as R. repanda L.)
• Hygrophila costata Nees et al. (as R. brasiliensis Spreng.)
• Hygrophila difformis (L.f.) Blume (as R. difformis L. f.)
• Hygrophila lacustris (Schltdl. & Cham.) Nees (as R. lacustris Schltdl. & Cham.)
• Hygrophila ringens (L.) R. Br. ex Steud. (as R. ringens L. or R. salicifolia Vahl)
• Lepidagathis alopecuroidea (Vahl) R. Br. ex Griseb. (as R. alopecuroidea Vahl)
• Lindernia antipoda (L.) Alston (as R. antipoda L.)
• Stenandrium dulce (Cav.) Nees (as R. dulcis Cav.)
• Strobilanthes anisophylla (Lodd. et al.) T. Anderson (as R. anisophylla Lodd. et al.)
• Strobilanthes hamiltoniana (Steud.) Bosser & Heine (as R. hamiltoniana Steud.)
• Teliostachya alopecuroidea Nees (as R. alopecuroidea, R. alopecuroides)

See also

• 21540 Itthipanyanan, an asteroid named after a student who authored an award-winning experiment on the dehiscence and dispersion of Ruellia tuberosa seed pods.

External links

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Copioglossa
• PlantSystematics: Ruellia
• Classification: Ruellia, species list at USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Tree of Life: Ruellia.