Date: July 26, 2010. Location: Rochester cemetery (map)
| Classification Hierarchy | |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Subkingdom | Tracheophyta |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Subclass | Asteridae |
| Order | Scrophulariales |
| Family | Acanthaceae |
| Genus | Ruellia |
| Species | Ruellia humilis |
Date: July 26, 2010. Location: Rochester cemetery (map)
Scientific Name: Ruellia humilis (named in honor of French herbalist Jean Ruelle; humilis—low lying)
Common Name: fringeleaf wild petunia, hairy wild petunia
Origin: Native
Notes: Only two species of Ruellia occur in Iowa; the most abundant is R. humilis (shown here). More rarely encountered, and only in wet environments in S.E. IA is R. strepens. The younger internodes of R. humilis are notably hairy while those of R. strepens are much less so.
Additional references: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Flowers: July; light blue/lavender often with purple markings on the corolla oposite the position of the anthers and stigma (it has been suggested that these markings direct the path of insects to maximize pollination).
Leaves: sessile, blades oblong to ovate, margins entire, veins and margins villous to hirsute.
Glossaries of botanical terms: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
