Ruellia prostrata, Bell Weed, Upudali, Ruellie prostrée

Ruellia prostrata Poir.
Family: Acanthaceae
Synonym: Dipteracanthus prostrata, Dipteracanthus  prostratus  (Poir.)  Nees  (Aphelandra  castanifolia  Britton  ex  Rusby;  Dipteracanthus  dejectus  Nees; Dipteracanthus  prostratus  (Poir.)  Nees;  Ruellia  otaviensis  P.G.  Mey.;  Ruellia  prostrata  Poir.;  Ruellia  prostrata var. dejecta (Nees) C.B. Clarke; Ruellia rivularis (Benoist)

English: Bell Weed, prostrate wild petunia
French: Ruellie prostrée
Malayalam: Thuppalampott, Velipadakkam, Upudali
Marathi: Kali dhawani
Tamil: Pottakanchi
Telugu: Neelambaram
Gujarati: Kalughavani, Kali Dhraman

Description: Erect or decument perennial herb, up to c. 50 cm tall, sometimes scrambling and taller. Stems several, growing from a woody rootstock, variously pubescent or with more or less spreading hairs. Leaves opposite, elliptic, lanceolate to more or less broadly ovate, 4-10 cm long, usually pointed at the apex, almost hairless or pubescent, most densely so along the veins; petiole up to 2.5 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or 2-3 together; bracts lanceolate to broadly ovate, 7-23 mm long. Calyx 9-25 mm long, divided almost to the base; lobes filiform, ciliate-hairy. Corolla white, mauve or purple, short-lived; tube 14-28 mm long with cylindric part much shorter than the throat; lobes more or less broadly elliptic, 6-16 mm long and up to 15 mm wide; margin entire to crenate-dentate. Capsule narrowly oblanceolate or clavate, 15-24 mm long, finely velvety.

Plant  decoction  in  case  of  physical  weakness;  leaves  for ear  complaints.  Seed  powder  given  to  person  with  sperm deficiency. [CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants]

8 Published articles of Ruellia prostrata
1.    Studies on the antibacterial activity of Ruellia prostrata (Linn) Galagumanivasagam, et al., Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2010. 3(1): p. 19-20.
2.    ANTIFERTILITY SCREENING AND PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF RUELLIA-PROSTRATA-POIR Andhiwal, C.K., C. Has, and R.P. Varshney, Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 1986. 63(10): p. 934-934.
3.    ANTIFERTILITY SCREENING OF RUELLIA-PROSTRATA POIR AND AN AYURVEDIC-PREPARATION Andhiwal, C.K., C. Has, and R.P. Varshney, Current Science, 1985. 54(19): p. 995-997.
4.    STEROLS FROM RUELLIA-PROSTRATA POIR Banerjee, A.K., Current Science, 1984. 53(3): p. 144-145.
5.    ANATOMICAL STUDIES ON ABNORMAL GROWTH CAUSED BY PUCCINIA-RUELLIAE-SYD ON RUELLIA-PROSTRATA Srivastava, R.C. and J. Abraham, Mycopathologia, 1977. 62(2): p. 113-116.
6.    FLAVONOIDS OF RUELLIA-PROSTRATA AND BARLERIA-CRISTATA Subraman.Ss and A.G.R. Nair, Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 1972. 49(8): p. 825-&.
7.    OCCURRENCE OF PUCCINIA-RUELLIAE ON RUELLIA-PROSTRATA-D NEW RECORD Singh, D.V. and B.M. Khanna, Labdev Journal of Science and Technology, 1968. 6(1): p. 59-60.
8.    The life-history of Puccinia ruelliae (B. and Br.) on Ruellia prostrata Poir Kamath, H.S., Proc Indian Acad Sci Sect B, 1947. 26((1)): p. 1-6.