Taxon: Ruellia blechum L.

Summary

Genus:

Ruellia

Family:

Acanthaceae

Subfamily:

Acanthoideae

Tribe:

Ruellieae

Nomen number:

464219

Place of publication:

Syst. nat. ed. 10, 2:1120. 1759

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

01/12/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Blechum brownei Juss.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Barleria pyramidata Lam.
Blechum pyramidatum (Lam.) Urb.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
McDade, L. A. & E. A. Tripp. 2007. A synopsis of Costa Rican Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with descriptions of four new species. Brittonia 59:208.
Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.

Common names

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán	Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Anguilla		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Barbados		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominica		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic		Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Guadeloupe		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Haiti		Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Martinique		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Montserrat		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Kitts and Nevis		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Lucia		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Vincent and Grenadines		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Trinidad and Tobago		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico	Liogier, H. A. 1984-. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.	Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Virgin Islands (British)		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica		McDade, L. A. & E. A. Tripp. 2007. A synopsis of Costa Rican Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with descriptions of four new species. Brittonia 59:208.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru		Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China		Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines		Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	New Guinea		Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii	Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	Palau		Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji		Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California Sur, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Montserrat, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.], St. Vincent and Grenadines, Virgin Islands (British)
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Naturalized
Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China

Asia-Tropical

PAPUASIA: New Guinea
MALESIA: Philippines

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Palau
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Daniel, T. F. 2004. Further range of Mexican Acanthaceae. Polibotanica 18:2.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-.
Liogier, H. A. 1984-. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands.
McDade, L. A. & E. A. Tripp. 2007. A synopsis of Costa Rican Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with descriptions of four new species. Brittonia 59:208.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
Tripp, E. A. et al. 2009. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 58:900-902.

Economic Uses

Usage	Note	Reference
Weed	as Blechum pyramidatum	Wasshausen, D. C. 1998. Acanthaceae of the southeastern United States. Castanea 63:102-103. Note: as Blechum pyramidatum
Weed	as Blechum pyramidatum	Liogier, H. A. 1981-. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-. Note: as Blechum pyramidatum
Weed	as Blechum pyramidatum	Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: as Blechum pyramidatum

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=464219. Accessed 14 May 2026.