Species · genus Ruellia · Acanthaceae

Violet Wild Petunia

Ruellia nudiflora (Engelm. & A.Gray) Urb.

Also known as: Wild Petunia

Growth habit

perennial

Ruellia nudiflora — reference photo — Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History · CC0

Cultivars of R. nudiflora

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under R. nudiflora yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A Name Among Synonyms

Ruellia nudiflora is a name that taxonomists now treat as a synonym of Ruellia ciliatiflora, rather than as a distinct species in its own right. Along with its varieties congesta and insularis, it traces back through botanical literature to the early twentieth century, when it was described and later folded into the accepted name.

Source: Kew

A History of Naming

Ruellia nudiflora was first published by Urban in 1912, built on earlier work by Engelmann and A. Gray, while its varieties congesta and insularis were both described by Leonard in 1927. Various regional floras and checklists, from the West Indies to Belize, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico, have referenced the name over the decades, though current authorities place it under Ruellia ciliatiflora.

Source: Kew

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

13–30 °C

Soil mix

Well-draining loam or sandy mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings or seed

Fertilizing

Light balanced feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Pale lavender blooms in bright light

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History · CC0

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Violet Wild Petunia yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.