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

Sea almond (Terminalia catappa)

Ketapang or tropical almond or beach almond or talisay tree or umbrella tree or sea almond ( Terminalia catappa ) is a species of plant in the Combretaceae, a shady tree, fast growing, forming a multilevel canopy, often used as a shade tree in gardens and on roadsides. T. catappa grows large, up to 40 meters in height and up to 1.5 meters in trunk, shady canopy with branches that grow flat and terraced, young trees often look like pagodas while old and large trees often have aerial roots up to 3 meters. The leaves are scattered, mostly at the end of the twig, rounded egg upside down, 8-38 cm long, 5-19 cm wide, the tip is wide, the base is narrow, the upper surface is smooth, green but turns red if to fall out and short stalks. The flowers are small, collected near the tips of the twigs, 8-25 cm long and green-yellow in color. The flowers are not crowned, the petals have five taju, are plate or bell shaped, 4-8 mm long and are white or cream in color. Stamens in two circles and arra...

Asian foxtail (Uraria crinita)

Asian foxtail or cat's tail bean ( Uraria crinita ) is a species of plant in Fabaceae, a perennial, upright shrub with woody stems at least at the base, up to 2 meters high in forests, agricultural land, waterways, used as a medicinal herb, green manure and sometimes planted in the garden as an ornamental plant. U. crinita has elongated leaves, rounded base, pointed tip, a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, rough surface, dark green with white spots. Petiole short or less than 0.5 cm and brownish red. Compound flower in spike shape, purple and white triangular crown. Long flower stalk, erect, 15-20 cm long and only at the end of the flower. The crown slowly falls off and leaves behind a stalk that is shaped like coir or light yellow pads. Asian foxtail grows in dry grasslands, open forests, trash cans, roadsides, sandy areas and sometimes in deciduous forests, elevations of 0-1500 meters and does not grow in waterlogged places. The different parts are often used in t...

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...