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| Last updated: January 2023 |

I got interested in this plant because it was often sold in plant nursery in Singapore as 夏枯草 (Prunella vulgaris), a plant that I was eagerly looking out for in the past. Unfortunately, it is not Prunella vulgaris. There was very little information on the status of Blechum pyramidatum in Singapore. The name of this plant was mentioned in a local publication [1] based on a flora survey done at the Upper Thomson Forest in 2012. However, no picture of this plant was shown in the article. Another source that mentioned this plant was from a blog posted in 2009 on sighting in Seletar area. However, the plant named as Blechum pyramidatum should be Nelsonia canescens (Blue Pussyleaf) instead. In the local plant pictorial guide (Plants in Tropical Cities) published in 2014 (page 665), this plant was also named as Prunella vulgaris.

In the iNaturalist website viewed on 14 January 2023, there were 3 records of Ruellia blechum from Singapore with the earliest one dated in September 2019. The previous accepted name of the plant was Blechum pyramidatum until an article in 2009 [2] that changed the status.

Reference:

[1] Neo L, Yee ATK, Chong KY, Tan HTW. The vascular plant flora of Upper Thomson Forest. Nature in Singapore 2014;7:55-68. | Read article |

[2] Tripp EA, Daniel TF, Lendemer JC, McDade LA. New molecular and morphological insights prompt transfer of Blechum to Ruellia (Acanthaceae). Taxon 2009;58:893-906. | Read abstract |

In October 2016, I brought a pot of this plant home to observe it more closely. The fruits were in the form of capsules of about 10 millimetres (mm) long. The matured capsule was being wrapped around with dried and hairy sepals of a similar length. Each capsule houses up to 7 seeds of about 2 mm long.

There were very few pictures of its capsule or seed available online. Pictures found in the Backyard Nature and a Mexican websites showed shorter and fatter capsules when compared to the ones in my picture.

| Plants of the World Online | Flora & Fauna Web (NParks) | Flora of China | Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) | Plants of Saint Lucia | Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) |

[2018] Cherigo L, Martínez-Luis S. α-Glucosidase Inhibitor Isolated from Blechum pyramidatum. Nat Prod Com 2018;13(4);461-464. | Read article |

[2015] Cherigo L, Salazar M, Martínez-Luis S. Evaluation of phytotoxic activity of Blechum pyramidatum, a weed of panamanian coffee crops. Int J Cur Res 2015;7(12):24172-24176. | Read article |

[2014] Tsai WS, Shih SL, Lee LM, Dolores LM, Kenyon L. First report of a novel begomovirus associated with yellow vein disease of Browne's Blechum (Blechum pyramidatum). Plant Dis 2014;98(5):701. | Read abstract |