Sunday, December 13, 2009

Solanaceae - Browallia?

 
This is a flowering creeper I found in a nursery in Bidor about two years ago. It flowers freely and is quite vigorous. The leaves are rough to touch. The plant does not produce any fruits, so it cannot be native to Malaysia. My guess is that it belongs to the family Solanaceae because the flowers remind of Browallia.
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7 comments:

Autumn Belle said...

Dr Ng, I have on Dec 11, 2009 posted a picture of this flower photographed at The Secret Garden of 1-Utama on my post requesting for info from anyone who knows the ID of this plant. My link is as follows:

http://mynicegarden.blogspot.com/2009/12/help-there-are-ufos-in-my-garden.html

Stephanie thinks that it looks like Ruellia or violet wildflowers. Based on her lead, I did a google search on ruellia, compared the leaves and stems and now I think it looks similar to Ruellia humilis.

How about your opinion?

Stephanie said...

Autumnbelle, I think this creeper is a different Ruellia.

Dr Francis, the flower is very nice, like Petunia, it probably look nice in hanging pots. Have a great day!

Dr Francis Ng said...

Thanks, Autumnbelle and Stephanie. The pics that Autumnbelle posted in her blog are very good. The flower does resemble Ruellia but there are other details that do not tally.

Dr Francis Ng said...

Could it be Ruellia squarrosa?

Dr Francis Ng said...

After examining various possibilities I now think Autumn Belle was right. Its behaviour as a ground cover matches the description of blue shade, Ruellia humilis, of Texas.

Autumn Belle said...

Dr. Ng, have you ruled out ruellia peninsularis (desert pertunia/baja ruellia)?

Today I come across a post by a plant and landscape consultant in the US that has a picture of a similar flower. The link is here:

http://www.azplantlady.com/2009/12/december-gardens-can-have-flowers-and.html

Dr Francis Ng said...

Ruellia peninsularis is described as a shrub and its leaf-veins are invisible. The plant in the Secret Garden is definitely a creeper and the leaf-veins are clearly visible.