Acanthaceae

Peruvian wild petunia

Ruellia chartacea (T.Anderson) Wassh.

Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Ruellia

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Peruvian wild petunia (Ruellia chartacea) — FlowerPhoto: Andrés Romero Bravo, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (3)

Chinese: 双色芦莉草, 火焰芦莉
English: Peruvian wild petunia
Japanese: ルエリア・カルタケア

Synonyms

Aphelandra chartacea T.Anderson
Ruellia colorata Baill.

Flowers

In flower: February to May, November (from 13 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Puerto Rico: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Andrés Romero Bravo, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Amanda Fisher, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: User:BotBln, CC BY 2.5, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Diogo Luiz, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Benoit Blanchard, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Bill Levine, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Benoit Blanchard, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Yuri Sofronov, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Benoit Blanchard, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Paula Romano, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Paula Romano, CC0, from iNaturalist

More in Ruellia

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.