Smooth Ruellia

(Ruellia strepens)

 

Color Photograph: Midwestern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Midwest National Technical Center.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Smooth Ruellia (Ruellia strepens)

Identification: Flowers large, trumpet-shaped, lavender in color, arising from the leaf axils. Corolla elongate, its base surrounded by a spiny calyx. Flower stalked and with a pair of small leaves at its base. Leaves and stems smooth, not covered with fine hair. Leaves elongate-ovate. Plant 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: The northern limit of Smooth Ruellia is in Illinois, Indiana and eastward to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The species extends southward to Florida and Texas.

Habitat: Smooth Ruellia is found in rich forest and along forest margins.

Flowering period: May to July.

 

Smooth Ruellia (Ruellia strepens)

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Hairy Ruellia (Ruellia caroliniensis)

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