Ruellia humilis on 9-8-18, #504-35.

Acanthaceae Juss.

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OR
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The Acanthaceae Family was named and described by Antione Laurent de Jussieu in Genera Plantarum in 1789.

As of 10-18-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 206 accepted genera in this family. It is commonly known as the Acanthus Family.

The two species in the family I am most familiar with are Ruellia humilis (Wild Petunia) and Ruellia simplex (Mexican Petunia). Ruellia humilis grows wild on my farm and throughout the state. You can click on the species name under their photos to go to their own page.

For more information about this family of plants, please click on the links below. The links take you directly to the information about the family.

PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE
WIKIPEDIA
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Ruellia humilis (Wild Petunia) on 7-16-19, #602-24.

For some reason, I always have to smile when I see the Ruellia humilis (Wild Petunia) on the farm. It’s just weird. I am not even a big fan of Petunias in general. These grow here and there in the pasture and hayfield on the farm and even in the ditch in front of the house. Common names include Wild Petunia, Fringeleaf Wild Petunia, Hairy Ruellia, Low Wild Petunia, Prairie Petunia, and possibly others. Oh, the Petunias we grow in planters are in a different family…

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Ruellia simplex (Mexican Petunia) on 10-1-19, #637-6.

A good friend and fellow plant collector gave me a start of Ruellia simplex (Mexican Petunia) when I lived in Mississippi. I brought them with me when I moved back to the family farm in Missouri in 2013 but they fizzled out. Then I was given a new start in 2018 and they fizzled out as well… I guess I haven’t put them in the right place yet…