Rungia muralis Royle ex Nees,  Prodr. 11: 470 1847. (syn: Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C. B. Clarke);
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India (throughout) as per Catalogue of Life;
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Herbs. Leaves 3-5 x 2 cm, ovate-elliptic, apex acute, membranous. Spike to 2 cm, dense, terminal and axillary, barren bract 4-5 x 2.5 mm, ovate, acute, fertile 3.5-4.5 x 2 mm, ovate, emarginate, mucronate, margin ciliate; bracteoles 2 mm, elliptic, acute; calyx 2 mm, lobes 5, linear, ciliate; corolla bluish-white, 5 mm; stamens 2, lower cell spurred. Capsule ca 2.5 mm, ovoid; seeds 4.

Flowering and fruiting: April-June
Dry deciduous forests and scrub jungles
India and Myanmar
(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi from India Biodiversity Portal)
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Acanthaceae Fortnight :: Rungia pectinata :: Chiplun :: DVMAR96/107 : 2 posts by 2 authors. 1 image.
Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees
at Bhile, Chiplun on March 5, 2011


Again very good.


I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


I am sure this is not the large-flowered  Justicia concinna  (or Rungia elegans)
I have no doubt the posted plant is Rungia pectinata.


Size. This looks smaller spike to me. Unless we include something in frame, photographs can be deceptive for sizes. I think it is R. pectinata.


Thanks, … On further scrutiny of all the posts, I also agree with you for Justicia pectinata


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


Thanks … I have corrected my notes.



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Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees
at Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary on February 2, 2008

I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


…, This image is very representative of R. parviflora var. muralis. I have seen and recorded similar specimen in Matheran and Lonavala, but not in Surat. (Occasional spikes are seen here with smaller sterile bracts, but in others they are bigger to much bigger sometimes.)

But there are some more creases to be ironed out.
In IBIS, there is this photograph of original page of Flora of British India uploaded … and it was quite thrilling to me to see that page ! Keeping the descriptions on that page in mind we have 4 taxa . . . Rungia parviflora with usually terminal spikes, sterile bracts non-pointed and fertile bracts non-hairy, supposed to be rare,, R. p. var. pectinata (=R.  pectinata ) with multiple axillary spikes, sterile bracts longer and with pointed tips, fertile bracts hairy, R. p. var. muralis with ‘densely packed’ spikes, sterile bracts pointed but not longer than fertiles –there is no mention of spikes axillary or terminal or both — we presume both, and R. p. var. origanoides with linear leaves, narrower spikes and orbicular hairy sterile bracts, again not mentioned but we presume spikes are both axillary and terminal.
Now coming to nomenclature ,
Paper by J R I Wood … Rungia transferred/merged to Justicia with some new names coined, and is followed by COL …
COL 2019 doesn’t show all Rungia transferred to Justicia. For the taxa we are concerned, it has to show . . .
Rungia muralis ex Nees is an accepted name, Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C B Clarke is synonym.
Justicia pectinata L. is accepted name, synonyms are Rungia pectinata (L.) Ness, Rungia parviflora var. pectinata (L.) C B Cl., Rungia parviflora subsp. pectinata (L.) L H Cramer
Justicia parviflora Retz is the accepted name, notable synonyms are Rungia parviflora (Retz) Nees,  Rungia origanoides Nees (and by default Rungia parviflora var. origanoides in Flora of British India), Rungia parviflora var. monticola Gamble.
Which names we are going to use ? is the question.

Thanks, …, for detailed analysis.
Dr. Wood has clarified earlier that he has not given names in Justicia, for many varieties, as there is lot of confusion and needs through revision.
So, in view, I will be keeping it as Justicia (Rungia) muralis for the time being in efi site.
Rungia origanoides Nees is given as a syn. of Justicia parviflora Retz in Catalogue of Life, so we will follow this only for the time being.

Thanks very much … for correcting the ID.


Yes sir, for time being, till a revision comes up. And there might be more varieties !


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Request for ID: 130110-AK-2: 1 image- 248 kb.
This was taken on 17th April, 09 at Mahabaleshwar. Very small.


– … ¿ Rungia pectinata ? … commonly known as: comb rungia • Marathi: माशी mashi, सूत sut • Tamil: தவசுமுருங்கை tavacu-murunkai
Normally, R. pectinata stands taller than what is seen here; wondering whether the short growth is due to habitat.


– The inflorescence character of the plant suggests that it is Rungia pectinata (Syn R parviflora) but you are right the height is quit low may be due to lack of substratum and it is growing in rock crevices.


I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


Thanks … The entire plant was but a few inches. I had to bend down and take a picture as far as I can remember.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


…, you were right earlier, though I still have my reservations about Justicia concinna /repens complex (whether two species or one).
I have said it and I say it again … Photographs are so beautifully deceptive about sizes !!!
In this image in left lower corner there is one looong spike … it clearly tells specimen can not be Justicia pectinata /parviflora (yet to find any literature with difference stated…few sources claim them to be synonyms).


May I request you to pl post the original image.


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Sure … Here it is…..
Attachments (1)- 838 kb.


This is Justicia pectinata only as the upper lip of the flower seems to be acute and whitish and not emarginated and bluish as in Justicia concinna
…  has said “This was taken on 17th April, 09 at Mahabaleshwar. Very small.”
Thus flower appears to be quite small as also pointed out by …, leading me to revert back his images from Justicia concinna to Justicia pectinata
Inflorescence appears to be similar to Rakesh ji’s image 3, in another thread. Now the question is to find out difference between Justicia pectinata and Justicia parviflora, which I am not getting.

I think the habit of J. parviflora is prostrate, mat-forming, while J.pectinata is an erect herb with diffuse branching … this is what I have been considering.
If their descriptions are on this lines, then confusion is taken care of.


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species



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Acanthaceae Fortnight :: Rungia pectinata :: Devgad :: ARKMAR-64/76 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (3)
Attached are pictures of Rungia pectinata captured at Devgad, Konkan, Maharashtra in May 2014.

I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


Thank you … for taking so much efforts in arriving at correct IDs of so many posts. A great salute to you.


Yes sir !!


I think Rungia parviflora var. muralis due to its dense spikes.


 


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Acanthaceae Fortnight ::Rungia pectinata ::Navi Mumbai : PKA-MAR80/80: : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (3)
Rungia pectinata from CBD Belapur Hills, navi Mumbai.

do you by any chance have habit and habitat pictures?
from 2015. if not, then from later years? i will aprreciate looking at them, if you please


do you by any chance have habit and habitat pictures? from 2015. if not, then from later years? i will aprreciate looking at them, if you please


I am interested in sizes. Leaf, spike, corolla. 


I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


…, yes, J. pectinata. Did you notice leaves ? Large. Leaf size variation is according to water availability, it seems


I think Rungia parviflora var. muralis due to its dense spikes.



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Elsholtzia cristata from Morni hills:
Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl., Bot. Not. 1941: 129 1941.
syn: Elsholtzia cristata Willd.
A small aromatic herb with long petioled lanceolate leaves and compact one-sided inflorescence looking like a spike and with enlarged floral leaves.
Photographed from Morni hills, growing on open hill slopes.

we have also collected it from Uttarakhand region during our survey for aromatic flora………..typical one sided
inflorescence and distinguish it from other Elsholtzia species.


How to differ Elsholtzia species from Rungia Sp.?

I think the biggest difference is the aroma in inflorescence of Elsholtzia sp. they are always aromatic and Rungia sp. are never emit aroma..


Foto attached here is Rungia sps. may be Rungia repens not Elsholtzia ciliata


Yes I think .. is right, it seems to be Rungia repens, in fact


That is what I also thought initially, but E. ciliata (syn: E. cristata) does not have that broad, compact and neatly arranged bracts with membranous margin as we see in my plant and in Rungia repens. My plant does not show
any flowers, but bracts are distinctive enough.

Rungia species are not aromatic… its very much different from Elsholtzia ciliata ….
In western India Rungia is very common and i know it very welll… so pls dont doubt… its Rungia repens
or try to check in any of herbarium… actually fotos mislead many times… as me to done many simple mistakes in identification by fotos..


I think this should not be Justicia repens with bracts appearing to be dimorphic and not appearing to be uniform.


This may be Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


Again, Yes sir !
Dimorphic bracts, multiple spikes at nodes.


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


I think we should decide which database we want to follow and then be consistent with it.
Both TPL and its New Version World Flora Online are unaware of combination Rungia parviflora var. muralis, and treat R. muralis unresolved/ambiguous.,
treat R. parviflora as synonym of R. pectinata
Kew Database  Plants of The World Online, also treat R. parviflora as synomym of R. pectinata,
All three treat Rungia repens accepted name
Only Catalogue of Life 2019 lists Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C. B. Clarke and lists it synonym of Rungia muralis Royle ex Nees (accepted name)
Treats Rungia parviflora as synonym of Justicia parviflora and var. pectinata as synonym of Justicia pectinata

Likewise POWO listed some Desmodium as Sohmaea and some as Hylodesmum and some as Ototropis !

Thanks, …
We can not follow any database all the time, for all our plants.
As we know, database in dependent on many underlying resources and these are also getting updated and changed over a period of time.
We also get connected with many recent publications, discussions in our group and advises from many experts, from time to time.  
POWO is also creating lot of confusion coming from Kew, but basing itself on the The Plant List, when a taxon is not appearing in their more accurate database on WCSP. This should certainly give bad name to them.
Catalogue has done a wonderful job in recent years and appears more reliable after WCSP & ILDIS. But it also can not be relied all the time. It changes based on latest publications (sometime on molecular studies), but those may not be acceptable to all and has to stand scrutiny over a reasonable period of time. Than we have our own Floras and efloras, which needs to be connected properly.
Sometimes, we may not be changing in order to maintain familiarity with a genus and sometimes to maintain comparative images on a single page. There may be thousands of old pages, for which I may not be in a position look them all at a time.
Thus this is very complex.
In this case, I would like to go with Catalogue of Life.

After seeing some latest records, I also like to follow Catalogue of life. Seems to be continuously updated.


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Rungia repens (L.) Nees, Pl. asiat. rar. 3:110. 1832 syn: Justicia repens L.
A procumbent much branched herb with oblong-lanceolate up to 5 cm long leaves; flowers in close one-sided spike with 4-farious bracts; corolla white with purple or rose spots.
Common in Morni hill tract among shrubs and forest shade. Photographed on April 9, 2011.

I think this should not be Justicia repens with bracts appearing to be dimorphic and not appearing to be uniform.


This may be Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species



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SK246DEC18-2016:ID : 7 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (2)
Location: Nuwakot , Nepal
Altitude:  3200 ft.
Date: 25 April 2015

… looks like some species of Rungia.


Justicia pectinata L. (accepted name)  ???


Pl.  Also check comparative images at EFI site.


Pl. check with images at Justicia pectinata L.


I already guessed so in my earlier mail.
Need validation.


Pictures are not adequate as not showing the leaves.


This should be Justicia pectinata as per discussions at Sorting Rungia species


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


 


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identification no210311sn3:
date/time:feb11
location:mulshi,pune
plant habit:found amongst the grass
height:tiny,almost lost among the grass


I think this is Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.


Please note that Justicia concinna J. R. I. Wood, nom. nov.  is written only in original publication (every published name was nom. nov. or Sp. nov. when first published), when citing them we always  drop this ending.


Thanks, …, for guiding in the matter.


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I take it Justicia pectinata only.


Yes sir, …! Multiple spikes at nodes goes against J. concinna/ repens where spikes are terminal.


Taking it as Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


Yes sir !



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Acanthaceae Fortnight :: Rungia pectinata :: Raigad :: DVMAR101/112 : 3 posts by 2 authors. 1 image.
Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees
on Raigad on December 19, 2008


Really diverse collection.


Indeed … I am fortunate to be living near the Western Ghats, it has some or other to offer during every season.


To me it appears more closer to Justicia muralis than those at Justicia pectinate


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Rungia pectinata in FOI : 9 posts by 4 authors.
I think, Image by Dinesh ji at Rungia pectinata in FOI, is of Justicia concinna as per images and details herein.
Pl. check and correct.


…, the flowers of Justicia concinna or Rungia elegans are very large – as large as 1cm across or even 1.5 cm. and as such this species poses no confusion among the tiny flowered Rungia spp.
Image by Dinesh ji at Rungia pectinata in FOI,is indeed Rungia pectinata – the flowers here are barely 1 to 2 mm
I have no doubts here.

That is the point … or controversy … …, what I know as Rungia repens, has flowers about 1 cm or little larger … in colors purple to light purple to white. Procumbent to erect up to 3 feet when crowded, leaf up to 5-6 cm long, elliptic, pointed tip, pointed base, very small petiole, somewhat hairy, more on underside. Spike always erect, up to 20 cm but usually 10 cm and longer fall down and tip bends upwards again, width of spike about 10 mm.
If this description fits to both, them either both are conspecific, or there are differences we need to find out.
From your images, …, I deduce that in R. elegans papery margin of bract is colorful, and spikes bear more than 2 flowers at a time … in Rungia repens papery part is white, flowers usually 1 or 2 per spike at a time.


Can we find differences or keys between R.pectnata and R.parviflora ?


On further scrutiny of all the posts, I also agree with you for Justicia pectinata


Image by Dinesh ji at Rungia pectinata in FOI, is of Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India as per discussions in another thread at Sorting Rungia species


Pl. correct.


Thanks for the reminder …
I was away in a conference for more than a week. The species has been corrected on the site now:
http://www.flowersofindia.Wall%20Rungia.html

 


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Devgad, MH :: Justicia muralis for validation :: ARK2020-037 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (4)

Attached are pictures of what I think is Justicia muralis captured near Devgad, Konkan, Maharashtra in April 2019.
This is based on the recent discussion on Justicia pectinata and others.
This was located in the vicinity of a similar herb ided as Justicia muralis here, the difference being this is the white variety.

Yes, appears so.


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Rungia repens ??


I too agree with …


The flower size is significantly smaller than Rungia repense; also the flower spike is different.


I think Justicia muralis as per images and details herein rather than Justicia repens


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Justicia muralis on trek to Matheran: 8 images- 6 high res.
On trek to Matheran (around 2500 ft.) from foothills, Maharashtra on 4.2.23.
Seen at many places throughout the trek.


 

 


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References:
Catalogue of Life  The Plant List Ver.1.1  IPNI India Biodiversity Portal  Kerala plants  Flora of Peninsular India

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