Acanthaceae · Ruellia

Kirantinayakam / Way-Side Tuberose

Ruellia tuberosa

Also known as Meadow Weeds, Minnieroot, Waterkanon

HerboutdoorMedicinal
Habit
Herb
Found in India
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal & more
Flowering
Throughout the year

Plant Details

Scientific name
Ruellia tuberosa
Genus
Ruellia
Habit
Herb
Native to
Tropical America
Distribution
Tropical America, Malaysia, India
Found in India
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Uttarakhand
Flowering & fruiting
Throughout the year
Conservation status
Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf surface
Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded

Typical of the family

Arrangement
Opposite
Simple type leaf character
Type
Simple
Entire margin leaf character
Margin
Entire
Pinnate venation leaf character
Venation
Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Kirantinayakam itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour
PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Fruit type
CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.Its fruit is a 2 cm (0.8 in) long sessile capsule containing about 20 seeds. — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Inflorescence
Spike
Fruit
Capsule

Characters marked “recorded” are for Kirantinayakam itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Nepali
बहुमूल Bahumool
Bengali
পটপটি Patapati, পটপটি ফুল
Tamil
கிரந்திநாயகம் Kirantinayakam, பட்டாசுக்காய் Pattacukkay, உரூலியா டுயூபரோசா
Malayalam
ശിവകരന്ത Shivakarantha, ശിവകരന്ത
Marathi
रुवेल Ruwel

About Kirantinayakam

Way-side Tuberose (Ruellia tuberosa) is a herb in the Acanthaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and 16 other states. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.

Illustration representing the Acanthaceae family
Botanical family

Acanthaceae

Acanthus family

Kirantinayakam belongs to the Acanthaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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