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Ruellia amoena
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From: Steve Marak samarak at arachne.uark.edu> on 2001.02.22 at 20:28:19(5968)
I hope you will forgive this breach of aroidal relevance (made worse by my
being one of the listowners!); I spent some time trying to decide where to
post this, concluding it didn't fit on any list to which I belong. But I
know there are many people on Aroid-L who grow many things beside aroids,
and who have incredibly wide-ranging knowledge, and I know several of them
grow this plant.
Seven or eight years ago, Phil Mueller sent me a piece of a ruellia which
he said "grew all over the place" in New Orleans to see the bright red
flowers. I rooted the piece and have been enjoying it ever since. I
tentatively identified it as R. amoena (for a close-up of a flower, see:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14048.jpg
or of the entire plant:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14047.jpg
)
Though not hardy here, and a bit sprawly, and of course being a ruellia it
shoots seeds everywhere, I like it - it's in full flower now, and it's a
real bright spot in the greenhouse.
But one mystery I haven't solved: what is that stuff that forms all over
the leaves when it's inside for the winter? And why does it form? And does
it do that for anyone else who grows it? It's a white substance, maybe
very very slightly sticky but mostly just feels gritty, forms on both
surfaces of the leaves, doesn't seem to be there when the plant is outside
in summer (or maybe it's just washed away by the sprinkler), doesn't seem
to be contagious, and doesn't seem to do the plant a bit of harm.
It wasn't apparent when the lopped-off piece arrived, but appeared within
a month or two. When I bring the plant(s) in in the fall, it's not present
but appears within a couple of months at most.
Although it didn't look like any of the usual insect pests to me -
mealybugs, scale, spider mites (and being nearsighted, spider mites are
usually perfectly visible to me), etc. - my initial assumption was
"something bad". But as I say, there seems to be no harm to the plant - no
loss of vigor, or color - and it doesn't spread to anything nearby.
Today, having some time, I started with a magnifying glass, working past
20x hand lens up to a cheap microscope. Best results seem to be at
50-100x, where it appears to be almost crystalline in nature. It has no
detectable smell or taste to me, although one of my cats seems interested
in it (but doesn't eat the plant). It certainly doesn't look insect-like
in any way.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Steve
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-- Steve Marak
-- samarak@arachne.uark.edu
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From: jim singer jsinger at igc.org> on 2001.02.22 at 22:30:20(5971)
no, but since i have a fondness for ruella, i'll be interested in what you
learn
At 02:26 PM 2/22/01 -0600, Steve Marak wrote:
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>I hope you will forgive this breach of aroidal relevance (made worse by my
>being one of the listowners!); I spent some time trying to decide where to
>post this, concluding it didn't fit on any list to which I belong. But I
>know there are many people on Aroid-L who grow many things beside aroids,
>and who have incredibly wide-ranging knowledge, and I know several of them
>grow this plant.
>
>Seven or eight years ago, Phil Mueller sent me a piece of a ruellia which
>he said "grew all over the place" in New Orleans to see the bright red
>flowers. I rooted the piece and have been enjoying it ever since. I
>tentatively identified it as R. amoena (for a close-up of a flower, see:
>
>http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14048.jpg
>
>or of the entire plant:
>
>http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14047.jpg
>
>Though not hardy here, and a bit sprawly, and of course being a ruellia it
>shoots seeds everywhere, I like it - it's in full flower now, and it's a
>real bright spot in the greenhouse.
>
>But one mystery I haven't solved: what is that stuff that forms all over
>the leaves when it's inside for the winter? And why does it form? And does
>it do that for anyone else who grows it? It's a white substance, maybe
>very very slightly sticky but mostly just feels gritty, forms on both
>surfaces of the leaves, doesn't seem to be there when the plant is outside
>in summer (or maybe it's just washed away by the sprinkler), doesn't seem
>to be contagious, and doesn't seem to do the plant a bit of harm.
>
>It wasn't apparent when the lopped-off piece arrived, but appeared within
>a month or two. When I bring the plant(s) in in the fall, it's not present
>but appears within a couple of months at most.
>
>Although it didn't look like any of the usual insect pests to me -
>mealybugs, scale, spider mites (and being nearsighted, spider mites are
>usually perfectly visible to me), etc. - my initial assumption was
>"something bad". But as I say, there seems to be no harm to the plant - no
>loss of vigor, or color - and it doesn't spread to anything nearby.
>
>Today, having some time, I started with a magnifying glass, working past
>20x hand lens up to a cheap microscope. Best results seem to be at
>50-100x, where it appears to be almost crystalline in nature. It has no
>detectable smell or taste to me, although one of my cats seems interested
>in it (but doesn't eat the plant). It certainly doesn't look insect-like
>in any way.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Steve
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From: Lester Kallus lkallus at earthlink.net> on 2001.02.23 at 03:57:52(5972)
Although I have no idea what this stuff is, I can tell you that I see
something that exactly mimics what you've described growing on my Medinilla
(the non-aroid plant that aroiders helped identify with just a verbal
description).
I don't see it on the plant when I grow it outside, but I do see it on the
undersides of the leaves and on the stems. I've tasted it and found no taste.
I wonder if it's the same thing as on your plant. It sure sounds like it.
Les
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At 02:29 PM 2/22/01 -0600, you wrote:
>I hope you will forgive this breach of aroidal relevance (made worse by my
>being one of the listowners!); I spent some time trying to decide where to
>post this, concluding it didn't fit on any list to which I belong. But I
>know there are many people on Aroid-L who grow many things beside aroids,
>and who have incredibly wide-ranging knowledge, and I know several of them
>grow this plant.
>
>Seven or eight years ago, Phil Mueller sent me a piece of a ruellia which
>he said "grew all over the place" in New Orleans to see the bright red
>flowers. I rooted the piece and have been enjoying it ever since. I
>tentatively identified it as R. amoena (for a close-up of a flower, see:
>
>http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14048.jpg
>
>or of the entire plant:
>
>http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14047.jpg
>
>)
>
>Though not hardy here, and a bit sprawly, and of course being a ruellia it
>shoots seeds everywhere, I like it - it's in full flower now, and it's a
>real bright spot in the greenhouse.
>
>But one mystery I haven't solved: what is that stuff that forms all over
>the leaves when it's inside for the winter? And why does it form? And does
>it do that for anyone else who grows it? It's a white substance, maybe
>very very slightly sticky but mostly just feels gritty, forms on both
>surfaces of the leaves, doesn't seem to be there when the plant is outside
>in summer (or maybe it's just washed away by the sprinkler), doesn't seem
>to be contagious, and doesn't seem to do the plant a bit of harm.
>
>It wasn't apparent when the lopped-off piece arrived, but appeared within
>a month or two. When I bring the plant(s) in in the fall, it's not present
>but appears within a couple of months at most.
>
>Although it didn't look like any of the usual insect pests to me -
>mealybugs, scale, spider mites (and being nearsighted, spider mites are
>usually perfectly visible to me), etc. - my initial assumption was
>"something bad". But as I say, there seems to be no harm to the plant - no
>loss of vigor, or color - and it doesn't spread to anything nearby.
>
>Today, having some time, I started with a magnifying glass, working past
>20x hand lens up to a cheap microscope. Best results seem to be at
>50-100x, where it appears to be almost crystalline in nature. It has no
>detectable smell or taste to me, although one of my cats seems interested
>in it (but doesn't eat the plant). It certainly doesn't look insect-like
>in any way.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Steve
>
>-- Steve Marak
>-- samarak@arachne.uark.edu
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From: Piabinha at aol.com on 2001.02.24 at 04:35:16(5988)
steve, if what you refer to are the transparent balls that made me think i
had insect eggs all over my Malvaviscus arboreus mexicanus, i have that too
and could never figure out what it was. it seems to be some kind of crystals
formed by the plant but i don't know what it is. doesn't seem to be harmful
or animal-derived.
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tsuh yang chen, nyc, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orchidspecies
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From: magrysbo at shu.edu on 2001.02.28 at 01:21:16(6001)
Be careful what you taste.
Steve Marak @mobot.org on 02/22/2001 03:29:48 PM
Please respond to aroid-l@mobot.org
Sent by: aroid-l@mobot.org
| +More |
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
cc:
Subject: Non-aroid query: Ruellia amoena
I hope you will forgive this breach of aroidal relevance (made worse by my
being one of the listowners!); I spent some time trying to decide where to
post this, concluding it didn't fit on any list to which I belong. But I
know there are many people on Aroid-L who grow many things beside aroids,
and who have incredibly wide-ranging knowledge, and I know several of them
grow this plant.
Seven or eight years ago, Phil Mueller sent me a piece of a ruellia which
he said "grew all over the place" in New Orleans to see the bright red
flowers. I rooted the piece and have been enjoying it ever since. I
tentatively identified it as R. amoena (for a close-up of a flower, see:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14048.jpg
or of the entire plant:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi14/mi14047.jpg
)
Though not hardy here, and a bit sprawly, and of course being a ruellia it
shoots seeds everywhere, I like it - it's in full flower now, and it's a
real bright spot in the greenhouse.
But one mystery I haven't solved: what is that stuff that forms all over
the leaves when it's inside for the winter? And why does it form? And does
it do that for anyone else who grows it? It's a white substance, maybe
very very slightly sticky but mostly just feels gritty, forms on both
surfaces of the leaves, doesn't seem to be there when the plant is outside
in summer (or maybe it's just washed away by the sprinkler), doesn't seem
to be contagious, and doesn't seem to do the plant a bit of harm.
It wasn't apparent when the lopped-off piece arrived, but appeared within
a month or two. When I bring the plant(s) in in the fall, it's not present
but appears within a couple of months at most.
Although it didn't look like any of the usual insect pests to me -
mealybugs, scale, spider mites (and being nearsighted, spider mites are
usually perfectly visible to me), etc. - my initial assumption was
"something bad". But as I say, there seems to be no harm to the plant - no
loss of vigor, or color - and it doesn't spread to anything nearby.
Today, having some time, I started with a magnifying glass, working past
20x hand lens up to a cheap microscope. Best results seem to be at
50-100x, where it appears to be almost crystalline in nature. It has no
detectable smell or taste to me, although one of my cats seems interested
in it (but doesn't eat the plant). It certainly doesn't look insect-like
in any way.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Steve
-- Steve Marak
-- samarak@arachne.uark.edu
|
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From: "Scott Lucas" htbg at ilhawaii.net> on 2001.02.28 at 18:54:07(6005)
Hi Steve,
What you are observing may be cystoliths, which occur in many members of the
Acanthaceae and other plant families as well. They appear as pickle-shaped
crystals made up of calcium carbonate and are soluble in weak acid solution.
They are formed around a short peg of cell wall material in large parenchyma
cells called lithocysts. They are easier to observe if you close down the
microscope substage diaphragm. As to, what is going on there... will have
to dig into some books on that.
Best regards,
Scott A. Lucas
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