Ruellia tuberosa L., Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: lu li cao

English: bluebell, Daniel's great gun, large bell-flower, minnieroot, popping pod, sheep potato, snapdragon root

French: patate-chandelier, patate-macaque

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herb with fusiform tuberous roots, widely branched erect stems to 50 cm tall; leaves mostly basal, finely pubescent.  Petioles alate, 1.5 cm long; blades ovate to oblong, 4-6 x 1.5-2.5 cm, base cuneate, apex obtuse, margin undulate, pubescent.  Cymes dichotomous, few-flowered, bracts narrow; calyx lobes linear, 12-20 mm long, hispid; corolla tube abruptly expanded above, 4-6 cm long, purple, lobes suborbicular, 12-15 mm wide.  Capsule subcylindrical, 1.5 cm long, puberulent; seeds 20 or more per locule, orbicular; 2-2.5 mm in diameter"  (Howard, 1989; pp. 380-381).

"Tough-stemmed herb with opposite leaves, large, lavender, campanulate flowers solitary in the axils, and club-shaped capsules" (Whistler, 1988; p. 6).

Habitat/ecology:  "Occasional as a roadside weed in both Samoas" (Whistler, 1988; p. 6).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Florida (US), Greater Antilles, Mexico, Central and South America (Howard, 1989; pp. 380-381).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ofu Island	introduced	Ragone, Diane/Lorence, David H. (2003) (p. 53)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ofu Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2001) (voucher ID: PTBG 34842) Taxon name on voucher: Ruellia tuberosa L.
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Olosega Island	introduced	Ragone, Diane/Lorence, David H. (2003) (p. 53)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1990) (voucher ID: PTBG 10502) Taxon name on voucher: Ruellia tuberosa
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 6)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1992) (voucher ID: PTBG 43370) Taxon name on voucher: Ruellia tuberosa
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1992) (voucher ID: PTBG 44174) Taxon name on voucher: Ruellia tuberosa
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 9) Vouchers cited: Baumann 7424, MacKee 8036, MacKee 11911 Spontané
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 102)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 6)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Disturbed sites such as roadsides; below 100 m. Naturalized in Yunnan.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 313)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 76) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Disturbed sites such as roadsides; below 100 m. Naturalized in Taiwan.
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 313)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 313)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 313)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 346)

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

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

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

References:

Cardenas, Juan/Reys, Carlos E./Doll, Jerry D./Pardo, Fernando. 1972. Tropical weeds; malezas tropicales, vol. 1. International Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 341 pp.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Howard, Richard A. 1989. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 6 Dicotyledoneae-Part 3 Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 658 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

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.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 2001. Voucher specimen #PTBG34842(David H. Lorence 8582).

Ragone, Diane/Lorence, David H. 2003. Botanical and ethnobotanical inventories of the National Park of American Samoa. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalaheo, Hawaii and Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Department of Botany, University of Hawaii. 91 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

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.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).