Browne's Blechum

Overview

Ruellia blechum is native to an area that stretches from Mexico to the northernmost part of South America, and has been introduced and naturalized in southern Taiwan, the Philippines, and islands in the Pacific including Micronesia (the Mariana Islands), the Caroline Islands, Western Samoa, Fiji, and Hawaii. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in some countries, but also has potential as a weed. Ruellia blechum is believed to have many health benefits, and has been used in various parts of the world as a traditional medicinal plant. 

Vernacular Names

Yierba de la noche (Spanish), Sapin-sapin (Philippines).

Agroecology

Ruellia blechum is a weed that is commonly found growing on roadsides, fields, disturbed areas, trash cans, open shrubs, and around old walls, at altitudes ranging from sea level to 0–2,285 m above sea level. This species is mostly found in flat and open places with full sun. Climatically, this species is well suited to the wet tropics, but has the potential to survive in sub-tropical coastal areas such as Southeast Queensland.

Morphology

• Stems - are often prostrate and rooting below, about 20 to 50 centimeters long and sparingly hairy or nearly smooth.
• Leaves - thin, ovate, 5 to 10 centimeters long, margins entire or nearly so, pointed at the tip, and widened at the base.
• Flowers - small, purple or white, and borne in spike-like, terminal inflorescences, occurring mostly in pairs, each pair subtended by a leaf-like, ovate, persistent, 1 to 1.5 cm long bract and two smaller brancteoles. Calyx is 4 to 5 mm long, hairy, slightly curved, and divided into 5 linear lobes. Corolla is tubular, hairy, slightly curved, about 1.3 centimeters long, and slightly exserted from the bracts.
• Fruits - ovoid, somewhat compressed and about 6 mm long.
• Seeds - round (orbicular), about 1.5 mm in diameter, brown.

Cultivation

• Propagated by seeds - seeds can germinate at a temperature of 10-40 °C, but optimum at a temperature of 20-35 °C.
• By division of plant part that have produced roots on the lower leaf nodes.

Chemical Constituents

Ethyl acetate fraction (1-triacontanol, palmitic acid, stigmasterol, ligularariaphytin A, stigmasterol-D-glycoside).

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• Entire plant in decoction is used as an antiblenorrhagic.
• Pounded leaves used as vulnerary.
• In Taiwan, leaves used to treat blenorrhea, intestinal parasites, wounds, vomiting with blood, flue and measles.
• In Mexico, used for treatment of cancer and diabetes.
• In a Panamanian inventory of medicinal plants used by Kuna, Ngöbe-Buglé, and Teribe indians, listed as antiemetic and antiamebiasis.
• In Nicaragua, leaf and whole plant used in the treatment of snake bites.
• In Mayan medicine, used for night sweats in children. Used for coughs, bleeding, chills, and fever.
• In Jamaica, used for baths, sore feet, and colds.
• In St. Lucia, plant is a constituent of a herbal tea, sangwi, given to stroke patients.