Ruellia prostrata Poir.

Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (17)

Picture: Bart Wursten
Pokoteke Gorge, near Masvingo

Picture: Bart Wursten
By road from Sinamatella to Mandavu Dam, Hwange NP

Picture: Bart Wursten
Ruia River, Kariba.

Specimen citations: Display citations Detailed records: Display species records QDS maps by: Google Maps Point records by Google Maps

Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:	Dipteracanthus prostratus (Poir.) Nees Ruellia otaviensis auct. Ruellia patula Jacq. var. prostrata (Poir.) Chiov.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Erect or decument perennial herb, up to c. 50 cm tall, sometimes scrambling and taller. Stems several, growing from a woody rootstock, variously pubescent or with more or less spreading hairs. Leaves opposite, elliptic, lanceolate to more or less broadly ovate, 4-10 cm long, usually pointed at the apex, almost hairless or pubescent, most densely so along the veins; petiole up to 2.5 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or 2-3 together; bracts lanceolate to broadly ovate, 7-23 mm long. Calyx 9-25 mm long, divided almost to the base; lobes filiform, ciliate-hairy. Corolla white, mauve or purple, short-lived; tube 14-28 mm long with cylindric part much shorter than the throat; lobes more or less broadly elliptic, 6-16 mm long and up to 15 mm wide; margin entire to crenate-dentate. Capsule narrowly oblanceolate or clavate, 15-24 mm long, finely velvety.
Type location:	India
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	prostrate: lying done or prostrate, even though plants are usually more or less weakly erect.
Habitat:	In a wide variety of grassland and woodland habitats.
Altitude range:	Up to 1500 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Also in Yemen, Oman, India, Sri Lanka, New Guinea and western Pacific Islands; possibly introduced in Southeast Asia.
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca):	N,W,C,E,S
Zambian distribution (Provinces):	Nw,N,E,Lk,S
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Friday 1 June 2012
Literature:	Baumann, G. (2005). Photographic Guide to Wildflowers of Malawi Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi Pages 138 - 139. (Includes a picture). Heath, A. & Heath, R. (2009). Field Guide to the Plants of Northern Botswana including the Okavango Delta Kew Publishing Page 27. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 15. as Ruellia otaviensis Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 19. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 19. as Ruellia otaviensis Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 35. Vollesen, K. (2009). Acanthaceae (Part 1) Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 204 - 206. (Includes a picture). Vollesen, K. (2013). Acanthaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 8(5) Pages 137 - 139. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Ruellia prostrata:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Ruellia prostrata
Flora of Caprivi: Ruellia prostrata
Flora of Malawi: Ruellia prostrata
Flora of Mozambique: Ruellia prostrata
Flora of Zimbabwe: Ruellia prostrata

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Ruellia prostrata
African Plant Database: Ruellia prostrata
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Ruellia prostrata
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Ruellia prostrata
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Ruellia prostrata
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Ruellia prostrata
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Ruellia prostrata
JSTOR Plant Science: Ruellia prostrata
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Ruellia prostrata
Plants of the World Online: Ruellia prostrata
Tropicos: Ruellia prostrata
Wikipedia: Ruellia prostrata