Ruellia humilis

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Common Names: fringeleaf wild petunia[1], low ruellia, fringed leaf ruellia[2]

Ruellia humilis
Ruellia humilis IWF.jpg
Photo by John Hilty hosted at IllinoisWildflowers.info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Ruellia
Species: R. humilis
Binomial name
Ruellia humilis
Nutt.
RUEL HUMI DIST.JPG
Natural range of Ruellia humilis from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Taxonomic Notes

Synonym: none

Variety: R. humilis var. calvescens (Fernald), R. humilis var. frondosa (Fernald), R. humilis var. typica, R. humilis var. longiflora (A. Gray), R. humilis var. expansa (Fernald)

Description

R. humilis is a perennial forb/herb of the Acanthaceae family that is native to North America.[1]

Distribution

R. humilis is found in the eastern United States as far west as Texas, excepting South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

Common habitats for R. humilis include calcareous or mafic glades and woodlands, as well as prairies.[3] Specimens have been colelcted from dry slopes of a region with pine and oak, and open prairie regions.[4]

R. humilis can grow in any textured soil, coarse, medium and fine.[1]

This forb has a medium tolerance to drought, and is very tolerant of shade.[1]

Phenology

Flowering typically occurs during the summer months.[1]

Fire ecology

R. humilis originally was thought to have no tolerance for fire;[1] however, populations have been known to persist through repeated annual burning.[5]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

Cultural use

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 USDA Plant Database
  2. Gee, K. L., et al. (1994). White-tailed deer: their foods and management in the cross timbers. Ardmore, OK, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
  3. Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  4. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2018. Collectors: Richard R. Clinebell II, William Platt, Sidney McDaniel, Randy Haynes States and counties: Georgia (Thomas) Alabama (Cherokee)
  5. Platt, W.J., R. Carter, G. Nelson, W. Baker, S. Hermann, J. Kane, L. Anderson, M. Smith, K. Robertson. 2021. Unpublished species list of Wade Tract old-growth longleaf pine savanna, Thomasville, Georgia.