Ruellia brittoniana Leonard, Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Ruellia coerulea Morong; Ruellia malacosperma Greenm.; Ruellia simplex C. Wright; Ruellia spectabilis Britton; Ruellia tweedieana Griseb.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Britton's wild petunia, Mexican blue-bells, Mexican petunia, Spanish-ladies

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect perennial herbs; lower stems sometimes becoming somewhat woody, 0.5-1 m long.  Leaves linear-elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 8-22 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide, glabrate, petioles 10-24 mm long.  Flowers in cymose panicles, each flower subtended by 2 linear bracts 3-7 mm long; calyx lobes 5, linear, 8-12 mm long; corolla lavender, the throat purple, 4-4.5 cm long. Capsules ellipsoid, 2-2.5 cm long, glabrous"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 174).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "cultivated as an ornamental but easily escaping, now naturalized and often found in dry habitats such as cracks in sidewalks and disturbed, shaded gulch bottoms"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 174).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico, Caribbean islands, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay; Uruguay (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands - inland valleys.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) As Ruellia malacosperma
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) As Ruellia malacosperma
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) As Ruellia malacosperma
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Niau Atoll	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 10144 (PAP) Naturalisée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 174)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. (2002) (p. 2) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H70094 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 174) Voucher cited: St. John 10515 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 98)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Midway Atoll	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 174)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Sand Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-13)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Queensland Herbarium (2002) (p. 7)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 254) Ornamental.
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 189)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)		Missouri Botanical Garden (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 346)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
Fact sheet from the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service.

Additional online information about Ruellia brittoniana is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ruellia brittoniana as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ruellia brittoniana may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Hunsberger, A. G. B. 2001. Invasive and banned plants of Miami-Dade County. U. of Fl. Extension. 3 pp.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe. 2004. Beautés fatales: Acanthaceae species as invasive alien plants on tropical Indo-Pacific Islands. Diversity and Distributions 10 (2004): 333-347.

Missouri Botanical Garden. 2011. TROPICOS. Online searchable database.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. 2002. New plant records from the main Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:1-14.

Queensland Herbarium. 2002. Invasive Naturalised Plants in Southeast Queensland, alphabetical by genus. Modified from: Batianoff, George N. and Butler, Don W. (2002). Assessment of Invasive naturalized plants in south-east Queensland. Appendix. Plant Protection Quarterly 17, 27-34. 11 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 27 pp. plus appendices.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.