Ruellia jaliscana clade
Erin Tripp
- Ruellia bourgaei Hemsl.
- Ruellia conzattii Standl.
- Ruellia fruticosa Sesse & Moc.
- Ruellia jaliscana Standl.
- Ruellia pringlei Fernald
- Ruellia speciosa (Nees) Lindau
Note: this taxon list is still under construction. It does not yet contain all known Ruellia jaliscana clade subgroups.
Introduction
All species in the Ruellia jaliscana clade sampled by Tripp (in press) are endemic to Mexico. Generally, floral color cannot be used to diagnose clades within Ruellia, but this may be an exception in that all species lack floral anthocyanins, i. e., they possess yellow or white flowers. Nearly all species encountered "in the cellulose" have a pungent vegetative odor. This odor can be so strong that, upon entering a forest with large populations of one of these species, one can immediately sense the presence of these plants. Beyond this vegetative odor, at least one species in this clade produces a spicy, vanilla-like floral odor. Floral odors are very rare among all of Acanthaceae.
Species in the Ruellia jaliscana clade have yellow or white flowers. Left: Ruellia conzattii. Center: Ruellia fruticosa. Right: Ruellia pringlei. Photographs © Erin Tripp.
Most species in this clade are, to varying degrees, rare in the wild (see Daniel 2003). Some are also endemic to a single state. There are a handful of other described species of Ruellia likely part of this clade, but they were not included in analyses due to a lack of material. Many of these are known only from the type collection and may be extinct in the wild.
Several species in this group have terminal inflorescences, which is notable in Ruellia. Based on the large, gibbous flowers of some members of this clade, Ramamoorthy (1991) established a new section (Chiropterophila) to accomodate some of them. Despite the sectional name, field work by Tripp & friends indicates that some species in this group are hummingbird-pollinated. Molecular data (Tripp in press, Tripp unpublished) suggest that the content of sect. Chiropterophila needs revisiting, thus a forthcoming revision of this section will be produced in subsequent months.
References
Daniel, T.F. 2003. New and reconsidered Mexican Acanthaceae X. Flora del Bajío region. Novon 13:37—48.
Ramamoorthy, T. P. 1991. Ruellia section Chiropterophila (Acanthaceae): A novelty from Mexico. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 107:79-88.
Tripp, E. A. Evolutionary relationships within the species-rich genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Systematic Botany, in press.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Ruellia speciosa Lindau |
|---|---|
| Location | Oaxaca, Mexico |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Identified By | Erin A. Tripp |
| Collector | Tripp & Acosta |
| Copyright |
©
|
| Scientific Name | Ruellia bourgaei Hemsl. |
|---|---|
| Location | Jalisco, Mexico |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Identified By | Erin A. Tripp |
| Collector | Tripp & L. Tripp |
| Copyright |
©
|
| Scientific Name | Ruellia jaliscana Standl. |
|---|---|
| Location | Jalisco, Mexico |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Identified By | Erin A. Tripp |
| Collector | Tripp & Deregibus |
| Copyright |
©
|
About This Page
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Erin Tripp at
Page copyright © 2007
All Rights Reserved.
- First online 10 April 2007
- Content changed 10 April 2007
Citing this page:
Tripp, Erin. 2007. Ruellia jaliscana clade. Version 10 April 2007 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ruellia_jaliscana_clade/96996/2007.04.10 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
