Ruellia tuberosa

• Botanical Name : Ruellia tuberosa L.
• Plant Family : Acanthaceae
• Plant Form : Herb
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 1, 22, 28, 30
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park, Ayurvedic Udyan, Van Chetana Kendra, Aranya Van

About Ruellia tuberosa Plant :

• Habit : An erect, perennial herb with a cluster of tuberous roots.
• Stem : Erect, ascending or diffuse, branched, quadrangular, deeply grooved, pubescent in younger parts, glabrous in older, greenish to dark-purple.
• Leaves : Obovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, glabrous, dark-green, sub-acute or rounded at apex, attenuated at base, minutely hairy on both the sides.
• Inflorescence : Axillary cymes.
• Flowers :
  • Blue or purplish-blue, pedicellate, greenish to dark-purple, slightly pubescent, grooved.
  • Calyx persistent, pubescent.
  • Corolla slightly pubescent outside.
• Fruit :
  • Capsules cylindrical, shortly beaked, encircled by persistent sepals, green at first and finely changing to brownish.
  • Seeds many, semicircular, pointed at one end, flat, with hairs which are extremely hygroscopic.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : July - May
• Significance :
  • The herb possesses emetic properties.
  • It is also used for the treatment of stones in the bladder.
  • A decoction of the leaves is given in chronic bronchitis.