Acanthaceae

Prostrate wild petunia

Ruellia prostrata Poir.

Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Ruellia

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Prostrate wild petunia: Bell weed or Black weed Ruellia prostrata syn. Dipteracanthus prostrata in Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh , India . — Photo: J.M.Garg, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (5)

Bangla: নীল ভুঁইফুল
Chinese: 匍蘆利草, 匐蘆利草
English: Prostrate wild petunia, Bell weed, Black weed, Wild petunia
Igbo: Bell weed, Black weed, Wild petunia
Tamil: உரூல்லியா புரோசுட்ராடா

Synonyms

Dipteracanthus prostratus (Poir.) Nees
Ruellia octaviensis P.G.Mey.
Ruellia patula var. prostrata (Poir.) Chiov.

Characteristics

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

Photos

Photo: J.M.Garg, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Susan Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Susan Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Susan Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Rison Thumboor from Thrissur, India, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Susan Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Rison Thumboor from Thrissur, India, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Susan Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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.