Flora of North America species comparison

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Russelia

russelia
Habit Shrubs [herbs, perennial].
Stems

arching [erect or ascending], glabrous [hairy].
Leaves

caducous, cauline, whorled or opposite;

petiole absent or present;

blade not fleshy, not leathery, margins dentate or entire, distal leaf blade needlelike or scalelike.
Inflorescences

axillary, cymes;

bracts present.
Pedicels

present;

bracteoles usually present.
Flowers

bisexual;

sepals 5, basally connate, calyx bilaterally symmetric, tubular or campanulate, lobes broadly ovate [lanceolate];

corolla red, bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate, tubular [funnelform], tube base not spurred or gibbous, lobes 5, abaxial 3, adaxial 2;

stamens 4, basally adnate to corolla, didynamous, filaments glabrous;

staminode [0 or]1, conical [filiform];

ovary 2-locular, placentation axile;

stigma subcapitate.
Fruits

capsules, dehiscence septicidal, densely packed with white, membranous hairs.
Seeds

50–200, dark brown [black], ovoid, wings absent.
× = 10.

Russelia
Distribution
from USDA
Mexico; Central America; n South America [Introduced, Fla.]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 52 (1 in the flora).

Russelia is unique in having capsules filled with densely packed hairs. Morphological and molecular characters suggest Russelia is related to Tetranema Bentham; both seem to be basal to the clade containing Chelone and Penstemon (D. C. Albach et al. 2005).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 294. Author: Kerry A. Barringer.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae
Subordinate taxa
R. equisetiformis
Name authority Jacquin: Enum. Syst. Pl., 6, 25. (1760)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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