Ruellia prostrata Poir.

Prostrate wild petunia (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Acanthaceae > Ruellia

Characteristics

Erect to decumbent perennial herb to 0.6 (1) m tall with several stems from vertical or creeping woody rootstock, or erect to scrambling subshrub to 1 m tall; young stems puberulous or sparsely so with upwardly directed hairs or with broad glossy pilose hairs intermixed, or subglabrous to pubescent-pilose with broad glossy hairs only. Leaves subglabrous to sparsely pubescent, densest along veins; petiole 2-20(25) mm long; lamina lanceolate to broadly ovate or elliptic, largest 3-10.5 (14.5) x 1-4.8 (5.3) cm; apex acute to acuminate; base attenuate to truncate. Flowers solitary or in 2-3-flowered axillary cymes; pedicels and peduncles 0.5-2 mm long, glabrous to puberulous; bracteoles (bracts in cymes) 8-27 x 1.5-8 mm, lanceolate to ovate. Calyx (7) 9-25 mm long, divided to 1-3 mm from base, with pubescent-to pilose-ciliate lobes with hairs to 2 mm, otherwise glabrous to puberulous; lobes filiform. Corolla falling early in morning, white to mauve; tube 15-30 mm long of which basal cylindric part 5-10 mm and throat 10-23 mm; lobes (6) 8-18 x 5-15 mm, elliptic or broadly so with entire to crenate-dentate edge. Stamens included in throat, didynamous, anthers not or slightly overlapping; filaments fused for 1-2 mm at base, free parts 2-3 and 5-7 mm long; anthers 1.5-2.5 mm long. Ovary densely puberulous; ventral stigma lobe c.1 x 0.5 mm. Capsule oblanceolate to clavate, puberulous to sericeous, (12) 16-23 mm long, (6) 8-18-seeded. Seeds broadly ellipsoid to orbicular, grey to brown, 3-4 x 3-4 mm.
More
Much branched, prostrate to procumbent herb. Stem 4-angled, to 50 cm tall, pubescent when young. Petiole 6-18 mm long, puberulous and sparingly pilose; blade ovate-elliptic to deltoid, 1.5-7.5 x 1.2-4.5 cm, acute at apex, obtuse at base, sparingly pilose to almost glabrous, margin entire; primary vein and secondary veins (3-4 pairs) somewhat more conspicuous on lower surface, pubescent; cystoliths numerous and conspicuous under a lens. Flowers solitary in axils of upper leaves; pedicels subquadrangular, 1-2 mm long, puberulous; bracteoles leaf-like, ovate-elliptic, 8-10 x 4-5 mm, sparingly pilose. Calyx lobes linear-subulate, 6-7 mm long, puberulous and ciliate; corolla sparingly pubescent without, pale purple to violet, 25-30 mm long, tube slightly curved, infundibuliform, 7 mm long, 2 mm wide at base, throat turned up from tube, 15 x 10-12 mm, limb suberect, lobes semiorbicular, 10-15 x 8-10 mm, obtuse at apex; stamens included, filaments glabrous, anthers oblong, ca. 2.5 mm long; ovary oblong, ca. 3 mm long, pubescent, style to 20 mm long, pubescent. Capsule oblong, 18-20 mm long, sparsely pubescent; seeds 16-20, flat, orbicular, 3-4 mm in diam. glabrous except for margin.
Perennial herb or dwarf shrub, up to 1.5 m high. Leaves ovate or elliptic, 40-95 mm long, acuminate, shortly to distinctly petiolate. Bracteoles linear. Calyx equally 5-fid, divided nearly to base. Fruit hairy, many-seeded. Flowers mauve.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.25
Root system creeping-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use Ear diseases (leaf), Gonorrhea (leaf), Nasal disease (leaf), Scorpion stings (leaf), Snake bites (leaf), Gonorrhea (root), Oligospermia (seed), Abdominal pain (unspecified), Abortifacient agents (unspecified), Antineoplastic agents (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Ear diseases (unspecified), Hypoglycemic agents (unspecified), Scorpion stings (unspecified), Snake bites (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Ruellia prostrata habit picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Ruellia prostrata habit picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Ruellia prostrata leaf picture by Kranthi Kiran (cc-by-sa)
Ruellia prostrata leaf picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Ruellia prostrata leaf picture by Susan Brown (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Ruellia prostrata flower picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Ruellia prostrata flower picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Ruellia prostrata flower picture by RIYAZ (రియాజ్) PASHA (పాషా) (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Ruellia prostrata world distribution map, present in Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Guyana, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Malawi, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, eSwatini, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, United States of America, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:54453-1
WFO ID wfo-0000400882
COL ID 4TNFK
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 706762
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Ruellia nubica Ruellia genduana Ruellia deccanensis Ruellia otaviensis Dipteracanthus genduanus Dipteracanthus prostratus Dipteracanthus dejectus Ruellia octaviensis Ruellia prostrata var. dejecta Ruellia prostrata