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Ebracteolate clade

Erin Tripp
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Note: this taxon list is still under construction. It does not yet contain all known Ebracteolate clade subgroups.

Only species that were sampled in Tripp's study (in press) are listed.

Containing group: Ruellia s. l.

Introduction

Members of the Ebracteolate clade are characterized by having reduced structures associated with the inflorescence (Ezcurra 1993). For example, most species have sessile and often solitary flowers in leaf axils (vs. dichasial, long-pedunculate flowers in other groups such as Euruellia and Physiruellia). Further, most lack floral bracteoles. Fruits generally contain between 2 and 8 ovules.

Species in Ebracteolate are distributed across the neotropics, though some geographic structure can be found within subclades. In other cases, some subclades are characterized by species having similar growth forms and habitat preferences, such as the group containing the widespread Ruellia geminiflora. Though species in this group are distributed across various parts of the neotropics (no geographic structure),  they all occupy open areas such as savannas, cerrados, and grasslands. Some of these species, e.g., Ruellia bulbifera, have thick, tuberous xylopodia (see above photo) and are apparently adapted to withstand frequent fires.

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Ruellia bulbifera has thick, tuberous xylopodia which is likely an adaptation to fire. © Erin Tripp.

The Ebracteolate clade is very large and morphologically diverse. One species, Ruellia verbasciformis, has gibbous corollas that open at night and have a strong, "fermented" floral odor. These features suggest pollination by bats, though this claim remains to be field-validated. Vegetative portions of R. verbasciformis have proven highly irritating to human skin (Ezcurra & Zappi 1996).

References

Ezcurra, C. 1993. Systematics of Ruellia (Acanthaceae) in southern South America. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 80:787-845.

Ezcurra, C. and D. Zappi. 1996. Ruellia verbasciformis, a new combination in the genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Kew Bulletin 51(4): 819-829.

Tripp, E. A. Evolutionary relationships within the species-rich genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Systematic Botany, in press.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Ruellia mcvaughii T. F. Daniel
Location Jalisco, Mexico
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Erin A. Tripp
Collector Tripp & Deregibus
Copyright ©
Scientific Name Ruellia tubiflora H. B. K.
Location La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Erin A. Tripp
Collector Tripp & McDade
Copyright ©
Scientific Name Ruellia foetida Willd.
Location Oaxaca, Mexico
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Erin A. Tripp
Collector E. Tripp
Copyright ©
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Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Erin Tripp at

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

Tripp, Erin. 2007. Ebracteolate clade. Version 10 April 2007 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ebracteolate_clade/96997/2007.04.10 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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