Hairy Wild Petunia

Ruellia humilis

This attractive perennial resembles the common garden petunia, but is apparently unrelated to it. It sends up stems with ovate or pointed leaves with smooth (untoothed) edges, on short stalks. Noteworthy is the extreme hairiness of stems and leaves, all of which are densely covered with short white hairs. The flowers are lavender, trumpet-shaped with five widely flaring, rounded lobes; they open early in the day and wilt by evening. They have several darker purple lines in the throat of the flower. A few plants in the park seem to be a white or pale variant (unless this is a different s;ecies, but no obvious candidate seem to exist).

1 foot, sun-partial sun.

Summer (June-August).

  A view showing the hairiness of stem and leaves.

1 July 2020.

Hairy Wild Petunia, 11 July 2020.

A paler color variant?

12 July 2020.