Ruellia patula Jacq.

Gebel Elba.

Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, South Africa, Zaire, Niger, Socotra, Arabia, India.

An erect, hoary pubescent, up to 50 cm tall, basally woody, much branched shrublet with ± quadrangular twigs. Leaves on 4-10 (-20) mm long petioles; lamina elliptic-ovate, rarely obovate, (1.2-) 1.5-5 (-6) x 1-3 (-4.5) cm, densely pubescent on both sides, entire, basally rounded, obtuse or subacute. Flowers pale-white, sessile, 3-4 cm long, usually solitary axillary, rarely 2-3 in cymes; bracteoles leafy, elliptic-spathulate or ovate, 8-10 mm x 6-7 mm, obtuse, petiolate. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, (3-) 4-5 (-6) mm long, ciliate, ± equal, acute. Corolla tube up to 3 cm long, infundibuliform, limb lobes suborbicular, 8-10 mm long, obtuse. Staminal filaments glabrous, anthers oblong, c. 2 mm long. Ovary glabrous, c. 2 mm long; style filiform, 2-3 cm long, hairy. Capsule elliptic-clavate, 1.4-1.8 cm long, glabrous, 8-10-seeded. Seeds flat, ± orbicular, c. 3 mm across.

Distribution: Tropical Africa, Arabia, Pakistan, S.W. India and Sri Lanka.

Fl. Per.: September-March.

patula: open, extended or spreading, referring to the growth habit.

Perennial herb, mostly decumbent, sometimes shrubby. Stems up to c. 60 cm long, trailing to erect, almost hairless, velvety or hairy, especially when young, sometimes with stalked glands. Leaves opposite, ovate to more or less narrowly elliptic, 1-6 cm long, sparsely to densely velvety, particularly along the veins, sometimes with scattered capitate glands; petiole 2-32 mm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or 3-5 together. Calyx 3-8 mm long; lobes narrowly triangular. Corolla short-lived, falling in the morning, white, mauve or purple; tube 10-34 mm long, widening at the throat; lobes 4-15 mm, more or less broadly ovate-elliptic; margin entire to crenate-dentate. Capsule clavate, 11-22 mm long, hairless.

Frequent

Zizula hylax (Gaika blue) Junonia terea elgiva (Soldier pansy)

Niger, CAR, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Also in Egypt, Saoudi-Arabia, Yemen Oman and India.

Ruellia patula là một loài thực vật có hoa trong họ Ô rô. Loài này được Jacq. miêu tả khoa học đầu tiên năm 1779.