Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Ruellia blechum
Camaroncillo, Browne's blechum, blechum
Generally, up to 70cm long, stem curves upward. Flowers are purple or white and contain hairy bracts beneath. Fruit contains brown seeds. (McMullen 1999)
Seeds appear smooth and dry but when wet are discovered to have hair on edges.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Lamiales
Family
Acanthaceae
Genus
Ruellia
Species
blechum
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Blechum pyramidatum (Lam.) Urb (POWO, 2022).
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Originally from Mexico to South America, it is a plant that is located in tropical regions all over the world. (McMullen 1999; POWO, 2023).
- McMullen, C.K. (1999) Flowering plants of the Galapagos. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 370 pp.
- Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
- Schofield, E.K. (1971) Field Guide to Some Common Galápagos Plants. Lindblad Travel, Inc., NY: 1-42.
- WFO (2021) World Flora Online. Published on the Internet. http://www.worldfloraonline.org/ WFO (2021): World Flora Online. Published on the Internet; http://www.worldfloraonline.org.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Ruellia blechum", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=20310. Accessed 2 August 2025.