Mexican Ruellia
Mexican Ruellia
Ruellia simplex
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Freshwater wetland
Range
Mexico and South America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

This flowering plant grows in wetlands throughout Mexico and South America. Its seed pods explode when wet to launch seeds up to three meters away.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Lamiales
Family
Acanthaceae
Genus
Ruellia
Species
Ruellia simplex