Acanthaceae
Ruellia

Ruellia nocturna Hedrén

First published in Nordic J. Bot. 13: 511 (1993)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central & S. Somalia. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Type
C1, 1 km NW of Ali Yabaal, Thulin, Hedrén & Abdi Dahir 7380 (UPS holo., FT K iso.).
Morphology General Habit
Shrub 1–2 m tall; young stems, leaves, bracts and calyces whitish-lanate with many-armed stellate hairs up to c. 0.3 mm long
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades ovate to orbicular, up to 27–37 x 19–25 mm, with veins branching evenly along midvein, apex obtuse, base shortly attenuate to truncate or cordate; petiole up to 7–11 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers single at upper nodes on peduncles up to c. 3–17 mm long; bracteoles leaf-like, up to 10 x 7 mm with petiole up to c. 3 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx-lobes connate for 1/2–2/3 of their length, oblanceolate with acute apex, up to 22 x 6 mm at flowering, slightly enlarged in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white, up to c. 65–74 mm long and 20 mm across; tube cylindrical, 52–56 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers 3.7–4.6 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule c. 8–12-seeded, up to 25 x 9 mm, densely pubescent with 0.1–0.15 mm long patent eglandular hairs all over.
Distribution
C1; S2 not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 50–300 m.
Note
R. nocturna is night-flowering like R. discifolia, but differs clearly in the calyx-lobes which are broad, oblanceolate and connate.
[FSOM]

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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Somalia

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

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 2024. 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