Ruellia humilis

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Ruellia humilis
Ruellia humilis.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Ruellia
Species:
R. humilis
Binomial name
Ruellia humilis
Synonyms
  • Ruellia ciliosa var. longiflora

Ruellia humilis (wild petunia, [1] fringeleaf wild petunia, [2] hairy petunia, low wild petunia) is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is native to the eastern United States. [1] It is grown as an ornamental plant. [3]

Contents

Ruellia humilis is native to the U.S. from the northeastern/northern central to the southeastern/southern central regions. According to the Germplasm Resources Information Network of the United States Department of Agriculture, Ruellia humilis is native to the following states: [1]

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, (eastern) Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, (southeastern) Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, (western) North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, (eastern) Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Virginia. [1]

It is not well-known or used much in conventional nurseries or gardens, but use in gardens has been increasing as native plants become more popular.[ citation needed ] It is usually about one foot high, but can get to two feet high. Its leaves are oppositely arranged, around 2.5 inches long by 1 inch wide, and are light green to medium green with entire margins. The stems and leaves are covered with soft white hairs. The funnel-shaped 5-lobed flowers are about 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter and resemble petunias, as does the rest of the plant. The lavender flowers bloom in July into September and open in the morning and fall off in the evening. [4]

Ecology

Ruellia humilis grows in dry to average soil in full sun to part shade conditions. Its habitats include prairies, glades, meadows, and open woodland environments. It grows well in dry, shallow, and rocky soils. [5] [6] It has been observed to have a high level of richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) diversity when located in calcareous plots as compared to acidic plots. [7]

With the general exclusive presence of Ruellia humilis in the United States set, there is more data that indicates, more specifically, the type of biome and regions that this plant shows up in more often. One case study sampling from Buettner Xeric Limestone Prairies, Illinois, Monroe County revealed that when comparing frequency of the plant, the plant had 70% presence in the eastern region of prairie and only 3% in the western region prairie. To place this data in perspective, the eastern region's vegetation covered about 38% of the surface while the western region's vegetation covered about 33.5% of its surface. Both regions' "rock was between 17% and 19%, and bare ground and litter was from 40% to 44%." [8]

As host plant

This plant is a host plant for the common buckeye butterfly. [5]

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Ruellia strepens, commonly known as limestone wild petunia, limestone ruellia, smooth wild petunia, or wild petunia is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to warmer parts of the central and eastern United States. A perennial herb, it prefers to grow in moist to mesic, partly shady areas such as streamsides and bottomland forests. In the garden it is hardy to USDA zone 5, and can tolerate nearly full shade.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ruellia humilis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. NRCS. "Ruellia humilis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  3. Ruellia humilis. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  4. "Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis)-Hort Answers - University of Illinois Extension". web.extension.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  5. 1 2 Mooney, Joseph. "Native Plant of the Week: Wild Petunia". mbgna.umc.edu.
  6. "Ruellia humilis". missouribotanicalgarden.org.
  7. Tipton, Alice G.; Middleton, Elizabeth L.; Spollen, William G.; Galen, Candace (January 2019). "Anthropogenic and soil environmental drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal community composition differ between grassland ecosystems". Botany. 97 (1): 85–99. doi:10.1139/cjb-2018-0072. ISSN   1916-2790. S2CID   91664403.
  8. McClain, William E.; Ebinger, John E. (December 2014). "Vascular Flora of Buettner Xeric Limestone Prairies, Monroe County, Illinois". Castanea. 79 (4): 246–254. doi:10.2179/14-015r. ISSN   0008-7475. S2CID   83645216.

Further reading