Acanthaceae
Ruspolia

Ruspolia australis (Milne-Redh.) Vollesen

First published in Fl. Trop. E. Africa, Acanth.(2): 486 (2010)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania to S. Africa. It is a scrambling shrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Flora Zambesiaca Acanthaceae (part 2) by Iain Darbyshire, Kaj Vollesen and Ensermu Kelbessa

Morphology General Habit
Scrambling or decumbent (rarely erect–) shrub to 4 m tall; plant drying black; young stems glabrous or sparsely puberulous at nodes.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves glabrous to sparsely puberulous, densest on veins; petiole ill-defined, to 2 cm long; lamina ovate to elliptic, largest 7–14 × 3–7 cm; apex acute to subacuminate with rounded tip, basal part below middle abruptly or gradually narrowed to a long decurrent base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes 2–6 cm long, dense, with short lateral branches to 5 mm long in basal part (rarely unbranched), often also with lateral cymes from upper leaf axils; lower internodes to 1(2) cm long; flowers all in 3–7-flowered cymules; axis sparsely to densely sericeous-puberulous with curly hairs, no stalked capitate glands; lower 1–2 pairs of bracts sometimes foliaceous, others linear to narrowly triangular or ovate, ciliate with curly hairs, 6–12 mm long, persistent; pedicels 1–3 mm long, puberulous; bracteoles linear to narrowly triangular, ciliate with curly hairs, 6–10 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5–9 mm long, puberulous-ciliate with curly hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla bright red, with darker spots towards centre, with scattered stalked capitate glands outside, no hairs; linear tube 2–2.8 cm long; throat 3–4 mm long; lobes 7–12 × 4–7(9) mm, elliptic, rounded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Filaments 3–4 mm long; anthers purple, c.1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule 3.8–4.8 cm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 9–10 × c.8 mm, smooth on outer surface, smooth with broad raised rim on inner surface.
Distribution
Also in Tanzania and N South Africa.
Ecology
Dry deciduous forest, coastal bushland, riverine scrub, rocky hills, termite mounds; near sea level–1000(1300) m.
Conservation
Conservation notes: Widespread; not threatened.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0