Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ruellia simplex
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ruellia caerulea
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Ruellia simplex
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ruellia simplex, older name for R. tweediana & R. coerulea (Ezcurra & Daniel, 2007)
Ruellia simplex
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-03-004:
Ruellia brittoniana FAMILY Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ruellia malacosperma
COMMON NAME:
Mexican Bluebell, Mexican Petunia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Keith Bradley kab_r_tweediana_77956
June Miami-Dade County FL
Calyx lobes linear, 3.5-10mm long. Corolla tube about equaling throat, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Keith Bradley kab_r_tweediana_77968
June Miami-Dade County FL
)
Keith Bradley kab_r_tweediana_77976
June Miami-Dade County FL
Corolla lobes to 2cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ruellia simplex
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ruellia caerulea
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2015)
Ruellia simplex
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ruellia simplex, older name for R. tweediana & R. coerulea (Ezcurra & Daniel, 2007)
Ruellia simplex
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 171-03-004:
Ruellia brittoniana
FAMILY
Acanthaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ruellia malacosperma
2905
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, commonly cultivated, especially in maritime situations along the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts, persistent and spreading (including by seed) to adjacent areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: eastern Mexico
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Petioles absent or to 2cm long
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Blue-violet
(rarely pink)
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed funnelform corolla
4 included stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in open cymes
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brown/Yellow-brown
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p243
- Everglades Wildflowers (Hammer, 2002, 2015) p021
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".