- Ruellia
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Ruellia 
Ruellia tuberosa Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Lamiales Family: Acanthaceae Subfamily: Acanthoideae Tribe: Ruellieae Genus: Ruellia
L.[1]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,[2] they are not closely related to petunias (Petunia). Both genera belong to the same euasterid clade, however. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle, herbalist and physician to Francis I of France and translator of several works of Pedanius 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 nowadays considered a distinct genus.
Ruellias are popular ornamental plants. Some are used as medicinal plants, but many are known or suspected to be poisonous. Regardless, 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:
- Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), recorded on R. nodiflora
- Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias), recorded on R. tuberosa
- Malachite Butterfly (Siproeta stelenes), recorded on several species
- Australian Lurcher (Yoma sabina), recorded on several species
Ruellia elegans
bell weed, Ruellia prostrata
Ruellia dipteracanthusSelected species
- Ruellia acutangula
- Ruellia affinis (Schrad.) Lindau
- Ruellia angustifolia – Britton's Wild Petunia, Mexican Bluebell
- Ruellia angustior
- Ruellia asperula
- Ruellia blumei Steud.
- Ruellia brevicaulis
- Ruellia brevifolia (Pohl) C.Ezcurra – Tropical Wild Petunia, Red Christmas Pride
- Ruellia brittoniana
- Ruellia capitata
- Ruellia caroliniensis (J.F.Gmel.) Steud.
- Ruellia cernua Roxb.
- Ruellia chartacea (T.Anderson) Wassh.
- Ruellia ciliatifloraHook.
- Ruellia ciliosa[verification needed] Pursh
- Ruellia colorata (might belong into 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 nudiflora (Engelm. & A.Gray) Urb.
- Ruellia patula
- Ruellia paulayana
- Ruellia pohlii
- Ruellia portellae (might belong into 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 into 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(= R. picta)
- Ruellia verbaciformis
- Ruellia villosa
- Ruellia vindex
- Ruellia zeylanica[2][3]
Formerly placed here
Numerous plants, usually Acanthaceae, were erroneously assigned to 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.)[3]
- Teliostachya alopecuroidea Nees (as R. alopecuroidea, R. alopecuroides)
See also
- 21540 Itthipanyanan, an asteroid named after the author of an award-winning study on Ruellia tuberosa
References
- ^ "Genus: Ruellia L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-01-23. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?10578. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^ a b "Ruellia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=34371. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ a b "GRIN Species Records of Ruellia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?10578. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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