The so very cool things that we learn from one another… here are two photos that Frances Crawford at Kew shared with me, taken of the elusive Ruellia currorii, which is known from less than 7 collections and is endemic to southern Angola and northern Namibia. The reality is that this name might turn out to ultimately be representative of two different species… one with purple flowers like the plants pictured, and one with white to cream flowers. Time and more collections will tell. For now, we can only gaze at the distinctiveness of this plant by its terete, almost Justicia-like stems.

Wild Collected, Angola, Crawford #406 (K); Photos by Frances Crawford, used with permission.