Skip to main content

Minnieroot (Ruellia tuberosa)

Kencana ungu or pletesan or popping pod or minnieroot (Ruellia tuberosa) is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae, an upright herb, up to 2 meters high and has many branches. The leaves are oval, with a pointed base, blunt tip, thin, flat surface, green, flat edges and pinnate veins.

R. tuberosa has leaves up to 13 cm long, 7 cm wide and stalks up to 4 cm long. Trumpet-shaped flowers, 4-5 cm in diameter and up to 6 cm long. The thin crown is purple or blue, five strands and fused downwards to form a tube.

Dlium Minnieroot (Ruellia tuberosa)



The fruit is tubular with a pointed tip and 2-3 cm long. Young fruit is green, old fruit is brown. If the ripe fruit is exposed to water it will burst, detach and be thrown from the stalk. The seeds are round, flat and brown. Minnieroot uses taproots and tubers.

This plant contains active chemical compounds including alkaloids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, saponins, coumarin and quinone dyes. Roots contains apigenin and luteolin. Seed oil contains myristic, capril and lauric acid.

Traditional treatment uses R. tuberosa as an antidiabetic, antipyretic, analgesic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. The leaves are ground into paste and used to treat wounds, itching, insect bites, venereal disease, wounds, tumors and rheumatic complaints.





Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Subfamily: Acanthoideae
Tribe: Ruellieae
Subtribe: Ruelliinae
Genus: Ruellia
Species: Ruellia tuberosa

Popular Posts

Screw tree (Helicteres isora)

Screw tree ( Helicteres isora ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae family. It is a shrub or small tree, up to 8 meters tall. It has gray bark and alternate leaves, up to 22 cm long and 17 cm wide, oval in shape, with serrated edges and hairs. The flowers are red or white and reach a total length of 5.5 cm. The fruit is green when unripe, brown or gray when dry, twisted, spiral-shaped, and pointed at the tip. The seeds are black or brown, shiny, and diagonal, triangular, or rectangular. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Subfamily: Helicteroideae Tribe: Helictereae Genus: Helicteres Pluk. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) Species: Helicteres isora L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Helicteres baruensis var. ovata DC. in Prodr. 1: 476 (1824) Helicteres chrysocalyx Miq. ex Mast. in J.D.Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 1: 365 (1874) Helicteres corylifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn in Rev. Hortus Malab....

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Coromandel (Asystasia gangetica)

Coromandel ( Asystasia gangetica ) is a species of plants in Acanthaceae, perennials, vines and branching that are widely found on the edges of roads, shrubs and gardens, resistant to shade, used as fodder, especially cattle, goats and sheep, treatment, conservation of land and ornamental plants. A. gangetica has a height of 88-95 cm, rectangular-shaped stem, brownish green or purplish green, taproot and can emerge from branches. Petiole has a length of 0.5-6 cm. Ellipse-shaped leaves, unifoliate, green or dark green, arranged facing each other and do not have stipules. Leaves have a length of 8.5 cm, width 4.9 cm, area 69.42 cm3, length and width ratio is 1.8:1, heart-shaped base and taper front end, rough surface, flat edge, a main bone and 4 -6 lateral veins on each side. Coromandel produces flowers after 4 weeks to 2 months. Compound flowers, lined up on one side with a length of up to 25 cm. Flower stalks have a length of up to 3 mm. Trumpet type, white with a bottom stran...