Ruellia

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Acanthaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ruellia L.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Erect herbs or subshrubs. Leaves with numerous, transversely oriented cystoliths; petioles shorter than the blades. Flowers or in axillary or terminal spikes, racemes, or panicles; calyx with 5 linear sepals, deeply cleft to the base; corolla funnel-shaped, regular; stamens 4, didynamous; stigma with 2 unequal lobes. Capsule oblong or club-shaped; seeds 8-32 (or more numerous) per capsule, lenticular.

    Distribution and Ecology - Approximately 250 species with tropical and subtropical distribution, with a few species extending to the temperate zone