Re: Mystery Plant

John:
 
I'm not convinced this isn't anything but Ruellia brittonia, the species.  It looks identical to specimens I saw at the Austin State University Mast Arboretum.
 
Years ago, a number of selections started showing up in nurseries throughout the south (long before it started hitting California nurseries).  These selections had different leaves (longer or shorter, usually wider and greener).  There was also a couple of dwarf, compact forms.  But mostly what I saw were many many variations in flower color -- from pure white through shades of lilac blue and lilac pink to purples, near blues, and deep pinks.  I'm even thinking that some of these nicer forms are hybrids involving R. brittoniana and another species; hence your inability to see crossing).  Only 2 or 3 show up in California nurseries now.

Joe

"John C. Macgregor IV" <jonivy@earthlink.net> wrote:
Sorry, Joe,

It IS a Ruellia, but this one has mauve-pink flowers and longer, narrower leaves than R. brittoniana.  It is almost as rampant and invasive a weed as brittoniana, and it seeds profusely, but the two species, grown side-by-side have never hybridized for me.  I have been trying unsuccessfully for years to find a correct identity for it.

John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23


 
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