Click on images to enlarge
infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
habit (Photo: Chris Gardiner)
hairy stems (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
flowers (Photo: Chris Gardiner)
close-up of flower (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
immature fruit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
immature and mature fruit (Photo: Chris Gardiner)
mature fruit that has released its seeds (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
seedling (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
young plant (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Scientific Name
Ruellia tuberosa L.
Family
Acanthaceae
Common Names
bluebell, Daniel's great gun, iron root, large bell-flower, minne root, minnieroot, popping pod, popping seed, ruellia, sheep potato, snapdragon root, spearpod
Origin
The exact native range of this species is obscure, but it is thought to be native to the Caribbean and tropical South America (i.e. French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru).
Naturalised Distribution
Naturalised in many parts of northern Australia (i.e. in northern and central Queensland, the northern parts of the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia).
Also widely naturalised in other tropical regions of the world, including on some Pacific islands (e.g. New Caledonia and Palau).
Notes
Minnieroot (Ruellia tuberosa) is regarded as an environmental weed in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory.
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