Acanthaceae

Minnieroot

Ruellia tuberosa L.

Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Ruellia

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Minnieroot (Ruellia tuberosa) — FlowerPhoto: Aravinth, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (11)

Arabic: رولية برية, رولية
arz: روليه بريه
Bangla: পটপটি ফুল
Chinese: 块根芦莉草, 塊根蘆莉草, 块根芦莉, 塊莖蘆莉草, 芦莉草
English: Minnieroot, Fever root
Hebrew: רואליה טובורוזה
Indonesian: Kencana ungu liar
Japanese: ムラサキルエリア
Malayalam: ശിവകരന്ത
Tamil: உரூலியா டுயூபரோசா
Thai: ต้อยติ่ง, อังกาบฝรั่ง, เป๊าะแป๊ะ

Synonyms

Cryphiacanthus barbadensis Nees
Dipteracanthus clandestinus (L.) C.Presl
Ruellia clandestina L.
Ruellia lysimachia Nees
Ruellia paniculata Scop. ex Nees
Ruellia picta G.Lodd.
Ruellia tuberosa var. humilis M.Gómez

Flowers

In flower: March to January (from 371 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Puerto Rico: native, U.S. Virgin Islands: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Aravinth, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: chen ying-hsiao, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: 陳彥杰, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Aris riyanto, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Heidi Meudt, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Hubert Croes, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Scott Edmunds, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Christian Weiss, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: hecklemore, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.