Ruellia noctiflora

Family:ACANTHACEAE
Species:Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
Common Name:Night Flowering Wild Petunia; Night Blooming Wild Petunia
Habitat:Bogs, low pine woodlands, roadside ditches.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:RUNO
Plant Notes:Night Flowering Wild Petunia is a native herbaceous perennial in the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae). It is native to the southern tier of counties in Alabama. Night Flowering Wild Petunia occurs low pine flatwoods, in pitcher plant bogs, in seeps, and in wet roadside ditches. It is a perennial with a knotty caudex and thickened roots. Each root crown produced 1-5 upright stems up to 2 feet in height. The stems are green to purplish in color, angled, with distinct joints, and pubescent. The leaves are opposite, sessile or with short petioles, elliptic to lanceolate in outline, with entire margins. The leaves are pubescent on both surfaces. Flowers are produced in the axils of the leaves towards the top of the plant. The calyx has 5 linear lobes and is pubescent. The calyx persists around the fruit. The corolla is funnel shaped with along tubular basal portion and 5 spreading lobes. The flowers are bright white in color. The flowers open at night and wither by mid-morning. They are pollinated by hawk moths (Family Sphingidae). The fruit is a cylindrical capsule with 6-10 seed. Night Flowering Wild Petunia is listed as a S1 species in Alabama (typically 5 or fewer occurrences, very few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable in the state), and globally as a G2 species (imperiled globally because of rarity (6 - 20 occurrences, or few remaining acres, or miles of stream) or very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range because of other factors).--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACW (DEP), FACW (NWI), S1 (State Rank), G2 (Global Rank)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyACANTHACEAE - Acanthus family
Genus Ruellia
Species Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray - Night Flowering Wild Petunia; Night Blooming Wild Petunia

Citation

Citation Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 2(1): 326. 1878.
Basionym: Dipteracanthus noctiflorus Nees 1847.; Ruellia tubiflora Leconte 1824, non Kunth 1818.
Type: GEORGIA: Richmond Co.: Altamaha, s.d., LeConte s.n. (holotype: PH).

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Dipteracanthus noctiflorus Dipteracanthus noctiflorus Nees, in de Candolle, Prodr. 11: 123. 1847.Ruellia tubiflora Leconte 1824, non Kunth 1818. 
Ruellia tubiflora Ruellia tubiflora Leconte, Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 142. 1824, non Kunth 1818. GEORGIA: Richmond Co.: Altamaha, s.d., Leconte s.n. (holotype: PH).

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Covington, Mobile

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, BRIT, JSU, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1868 - 1964

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AUA_ACC_71262 Covington 8 Jul 1993 Oberholster, Suzanne
465
AUA
Ruellia Noctiflora (Nees) Gray
ALNHS00002536 Mobile 14 May 2013 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#1040
ALNHS
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
AUA000025530 Covington 22 May 1979 Crawford, Lloyd C.
AUA
Ruellia Noctiflora (Nees) Gray
AMAL00011565 Covington 10 Jul 1980 Pendergrass, Levester
60
AMAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
AUA000025531 Mobile 15 May 1997 Schotz, Alfred
1500
AUA
Ruellia Noctiflora (Nees) Gray
JSU136039 Mobile 21 Jun 1998 Spaulding, Daniel D.
10334
JSU
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
UWAL0005434 Mobile 02 Jun 1972 Kral, Robert
47108
UWAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
AUA000025532 Mobile 2 Jun 1972 Kral, Robert
47108
AUA
Ruellia Noctiflora (Nees) Gray
UNA00042832 Mobile 26 Jun 1964 Deramus, Rebecca
D148
UNA
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
ALNHS00000002 Mobile 21 Jun 1998 Spaulding, Daniel D.
10334
ALNHS
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
TROY000042648 Covington 25 Jun 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
26524
TROY
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
AMAL00012440 Mobile 8 Nov 1980 Kral, Robert
66622
AMAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
AMAL00019984 Mobile 30 May 2013 Horne, Howard E.
2232
AMAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
AUA000025533 Mobile 5 Jun 1987 Freeman, John D.
S. N.
AUA
Ruellia Noctiflora (Nees) Gray
UWAL0012320 Mobile 19 Apr 2013 Horne, Howard E.
2095
UWAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
BRIT67811 Mobile 02 Jun 1972 Kral, Robert
47108
BRIT
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
TROY000000736 Mobile 08 Nov 1980 Kral, Robert
66622
TROY
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
UWAL0037570 Covington 13 Jul 1995 Sorrie, Bruce A.
8479
UWAL
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
UNA00027550 Mobile 02 Jul 1868 Mohr, Charles
s.n.
UNA
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) Gray
BRIT67810 Mobile 08 Nov 1980 Kral, Robert
66622
BRIT
Ruellia noctiflora (Nees) A. Gray
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