Amazing Herb: Ruellia Tuberosa

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Written by

eommaZel

God creates beauty. My camera and I are a witness. 🥀

4 years ago

In community: Open For All(cc80)

Have you seen this plant before?

I bet you've seen one. It is very common in grasslands.

It's a plant with violet flowers and with a popping seed. When we were young, we used to play its seeds. We usually put it in a bowl of water and wait for its dry seed to pop. Children like to play with the dry pods that pop when rubbed with spit or water.

Did you ever wonder why ruellia tuberosa' seeds pop?

The interesting phenomenon of this plant is a mechanical movement of seed capsule that will crack immediately together with producing an explosion after make a contact with water. The explosion is due to the mechanical crack along the capsule's separation line that is assumed to become weak their compounds by the water.

I saw this plant with flowers on the roadside, so I took photos of it and searched it in Google lens. Before, I really thought this plant is just a weed. But I found out that this plant is amazing too.

Ruellia Tuberosa

Ruellia tuberosa is also known as Minnie root, fever root, snapdragon root, and sheep potato. It is a low-growing perennial herb with tuberous roots, growing to a height of a foot or more. It can usually be found in moist and shady environments. It grows, however, preferably in grasslands and roadsides, often as a weed in cultivated fields.

Its native range is in Central America but presently it has become naturalized in many countries of tropical South and Southeast Asia.

Did you know that this plant has medicinal purposes?

In folk medicine, ruellia tuberosa is considered a diuretic, antidiabetic, antipyretic, analgesic, antidotal.

Studies have suggested that it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antinociceptive, gastroprotective properties.

Parts used: Roots and Leaves

Ruellia Tuberosa Folkloric uses

• No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.

• In Trinidad and Tobago, it is used as a "cooling" agent, for urinary problems and high cholesterol.

• In Suriname's traditional medicine, it is used as anthelmintic; for joint pains and muscle strain. Also used as an abortifacient. The root is used against kidney diseases and whooping cough. Infusion is used for cleansing the blood.

• Its root and leaf are used for alleviating urinary retention.

• It is used for gonorrhea, syphilis, bladder stones, bronchitis, and cancer.

• In the Cayman Islands, it is used for heart ailments.

• In Grenada, it is used for common colds, fevers, and hypertension.

• In the Dominican Republic, it is an ingredient in a concoction for a male potency drink.

• In Sri Lankan traditional medicine, it is used for stomach problems.

• In India, the leaf juice is applied to scorpion bite sites and is used for kidney stone disorders.

Ruellia tuberosa is available wild-crafted and seeds and herbs are also available in the cybermarkets.

Information Sources:

http://www.stuartxchange.org/Ruellia#:~:text=Ruellia%20tuberosa%20is%20a%20low,up%20to%2012%20centimeters%20long.

Plants here on our planet are indeed amazing. Who would think that this plant we used to pick flowers and play its seeds, has various folkloric medical purposes?