Family: Acanthaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability
  
• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Naturalized in Australia and the southeastern US, but no evidence in the Hawaiian Islands to date
  
• An environmental weed (competes with native vegetation)
  
• Other Ruellia species are invasive
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Forms monotypic stands that exclude other vegetation
  
• Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively by rhizome and stem fragments
  
• Self-compatible
  
• A perennial, but able to reach maturity in one growing season
  
• Seeds dispersed by explosive dehiscence, by water, and by adhering to animals and possibly people and equipment
  
• Vegetative fragments dispersed by water and as garden waste
  
• Seeds may persist in the soil for 13-15 months
  
• Able to resprout after cutting

Low Risk Traits:

• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Non-toxic
  
• Sterile cultivars may reduce invasiveness
  
• Herbicides may provide effective control