Ruellia
(named in honour of John Ruelle, of Soissons, 1474-1537, botanist and physician to Francis I.; he published a treatise, "De Natura Plantarum," in 1536). Including Arrhostoxylum, Dipteracanthus, and Stephanophysum. ORD. Acanthaceoe. A genus comprising about 150 species of stove or greenhouse, pubescent, villous, or rarely glabrous, annual or perennial herbs, sub-shrubs, or shrubs, mostly American, a few being found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Flowers violet, pale lilac, white, red, or rarely yellow or orange, sessile or sub-sessile in the axils of the leaves or bracts, sometimes solitary or fascicled, sometimes in paniculate cymes; calyx deeply five-fid or five-parted; corolla tube straight, incurved, or abruptly bent, dilated upwards; limb spreading, very oblique or sub-equal, with five ovate or rounded, twisted lobes; stamens four, included or exserted. Leaves opposite, entire or rarely toothed; bracts often narrow or small. The best-known species are described below. They are pretty, free-flowering plants, and readily thrive in any light, rich soil, with stove heat. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, inserted in similar soil, under a hand glass. R. acutangula (acute-angled). fl. sessile, on axillary peduncles, 4in. to 6in. long; calyx 1/2in. long; corolla tube 1in. long, slightly curved; limb bright orange-scarlet, yellow at the throat, 2in. in diameter. May. l. 5in. to 8in. long, elliptic-ovate, acuminate, narrowed into the petiole, with many nerves sunk in the surface. Branches obtusely quadrangular. Brazil. A large herb or under-shrub. (B. M. 6382.) R. Baikiei (Dr. Baikie's).* fl. opposite, sessile, in a terminal panicle, composed of many-flowered, opposite racemes or spikes; corolla scarlet, over 2in. long, tubular-infundibuliform, inflated or ventricose in the middle. Winter. l. in opposite pairs, sometimes more than 9in. long, including the petiole, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, attenuated at base. h. 3ft. West Africa, 1858. Sub-shrub. (B. M. 5111, under name of Stephanophysum Baikiei.) R. ciliatiflora (fringe-flowered). fl. purplish-blue, handsome, two to four or six in a terminal, leafless panicle; corolla 1in. across, the tube about the same length; margins of limb beautifully dentate-ciliate. September. l. opposite, ovate, petiolate, the margins unequally serrate, more or less hairy; lower ones more so, and the largest. Stem herbaceous, pubescent-scabrous. h. 2ft. Buenos Ayres, 1838. (B. M. 3718.) R. Devosiana (Devos'). fl. white, axillary; corolla tube suddenly dilated and bent at the middle. l. lanceolate, distantly toothed, deep green above, with the course of the veins whitish, entirely purple beneath. Stems purple. Brazil, 1877. Subshrub. A very effective foliage plant. (B. H. 1877, 19.) R. elegans (elegant), of Hooker. A synonym of R. latebrosa. R. formosa (beautiful). fl. on axillary, alternate, straight peduncles, two or three times longer than the leaves; corolla fine scarlet, showy; tube 1 1/2in. long; two upper lobes of limb conjoined half-way up. Summer. l. opposite, ovate, more or less pointed, rounded at the base, covered on both sides with short hairs; petioles not half as long as the leaves. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1808. Shrub. (B. M. 1400.) R. Herbstii (Herbst's).* fl. three to five together, 3in. long, calyx red-purple, 3/4in. long; corolla pale rose-purple, abruptly bent; limb of five white, patent or recurved, bilobed divisions. September. l. deep dull green, the upper ones of a dull pale purple beneath, 5in. to 7in. long, 1 3/4in. to 2in. broad, lanceolate, acuminate, obscurely sinuated, serrated. h. 3ft. Brazil, 1859. An erect shrub or sub-shrub. (B. M. 5156, under name of Dipteracanthus Herbstii.) R. latebrosa (secret). fl., corolla salver-shaped; tube white, purplish upwards, curved; limb very bright blue, of five emarginate lobes. Summer. l. opposite, pubescent, ovate, acuminate, coarsely serrated, tapering gradually into a footstalk nearly equalling the leaf in length; those at the tips of the branches reduced to sessile bracts. h. 2ft. East Indies, 1834. Annual. (B. M. 3389, under name of R. elegans.) R. longifolia (long-leaved). fl. vermilion; corolla segments retuse. July. l. oblong-lanceolate or oblong, attenuated at both ends, repand or repand-denticulate. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Brazil, 1820. A glabrous, perennial herb. R. macrantha (large-flowered). fl. of a rosy-purple colour, with a light, beautifully-veined throat, trumpet-shaped, large, axillary. l. long-lanceolate. 1883. A handsome, decorative shrub. (R. H. 1881, p. 410.) R. macrophylla (large-leaved).* fl. handsome, sub-secund, in spreading, di-trichotomous panicles; corolla bright scarlet, 2in. to 3in. long, the tube curved, broader upwards, but laterally compressed; limb large; lobes soon reflexed. Summer. l. opposite, petiolate, ovate, acuminate, penninerved, reticulated, the margins sinuated or indistinctly toothed, puberulous. h. 3ft. to 4ft. New Grenada, Mexico, &c., 1844. Plant shrubby below, herbaceous above. (B. M. 4448 and B. R. xxxii. 7, under name of Stemonacanthus macrophyllus.) R. paniculata (panicle-flowered). Christmas Pride. fl. purple, in axillary, opposite, dichotomously divaricate cymes; corolla funnel-shaped, nearly 1/2in. long. August. l. oblong-oval, attenuated at both ends, decurrent into the petioles, hairy-pubescent or glandulose. h. 3ft. West Indies, 1768. Herbaceous perennial. (B. R. 585.) R. Portellae (Portella's).* fl. axillary, solitary, sessile; calyx segments nearly 1/2in. long, hairy; corolla bright rose-pink, hairy externally, 1 1/2in. to 1 3/4in. long, with a slender tube, dilated above the middle, and a flat limb 1in. in diameter. Winter. l. 2in. to 3in. long, very uniform, elliptic-ovate, sub-acute, narrowed into slender petioles one-half their own length, red-purple beneath. h. 1ft. Brazil, 1879. A free-flowering, much-branched, erect, perennial. (B. M. 6498.) R. Purdieana (Purdie's). fl. terminal, in pairs, each remarkable for a large pair of bracts at the base; calyx small; corolla of a fine, deep crimson-lilac, with a much-elongated tube, and a limb of five waved segments. Various seasons. l. opposite, petiolate, ovate, acuminate, penninerved. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Jamaica, 1844. A glabrous shrub or under-shrub. (B. M. 4298; P. M. B. xvi. 129.) R. rosea (rose-coloured). fl. in terminal, corymbose, glandular-hairy spikes; corolla 1in. long. Summer. l. lanceolate, covered with canescent wool beneath, 3 1/2in. to 7in. long, acuminate, rigid. Brazil, 1818. Shrub. R. Schaueriana (Schauer's). fl. axillary, sessile; corolla with a very long, funnel-shaped, curved tube, veiny and lilac above, pale and almost white towards the base; limb of five purplish-lilac, rounded lobes. Summer. l. opposite, ovate, bluntly acuminate, penninerved, pale beneath. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Brazil, 1844. A low shrub, with the young branches herbaceous. (B. M. 4147; B. R. xxxii. 45, under name of R. lilacina.) R. solitaria (solitary). fl. geminate, nearly sessile; corolla rather pale purplish-lilac, with a few deeper lines or streaks; tube long, funnel-shaped, the lower half white. Winter. l. opposite, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long, oblong or ovate-lanceolate, short-petioled, obtusely acuminate, pale, and sometimes purplish beneath. h. 2ft. Brazil. Shrub or under-shrub. (B. M. 5106, under name of Dipteracanthus calvescens.) The plant figured under the name of Strobilanthes lactatus, in B. M. 4366 and F. d. S. 346, is a form with the foliage bearing a central blotch of white.
R. speciosa (showy).* fl. of a rich scarlet colour, axillary, solitary, sub-sessile; corolla large, funnel-shaped, 3 1/4in., or thrice as long as the calyx. July. l. oval; lower ones obtuse, with a slight mucrone; upper ones acute, glabrous, slightly acute at base, petiolate. h. (in its native place) sometimes as much as 20ft. Brazil, 1859. Shrub, with flexuous, dependent branches. (B. M. 5414, under name of Dipteracanthus affinis.) R. spectabilis (remarkable).* fl. purplish-blue, marked with dark veins, sessile, or nearly so, axillary in twos, large and very limb very large, with five rounded lobes. August. l. opposite, moderately large, nearly sessile, ovate, acuminate, attenuated at the base, ciliated on the margins, slightly pubescent above. h 2ft. or more. Peru, 1849. A slightly pubescent, decorative perennial herb. (B. M. 4494, under name of Dipteracanthus spectabilis.)