Family: Acanthaceae
Common name: White candles, Rueliia elongata, Ruellia longiflora
White Candles is a beautiful flowering plant that can flower almost year-round with pristine white flowers held above the foliage.
They are native to West Africa, but these plants can now be seen in gardens all over the world in tropical countries.
Plant Characteristics
These plants can grow to a height of 4-5 meters with an erect stem and lance-shaped leaves. The leaves are dark green and glossy, with an elongated drip tip typical of rainforest plants.
Leaves can grow to length of 12-15 cm with a dark green upper surface and lighter green lower surface. Flowers are very beautiful – pristine white, tubular, and covered with thin, white hairs. White candle flowers are produced on spike-like inflorescences that are 15-20 cm tall.
The tall, white clusters of flowers help high on top of the dark green foliage gives the plant its name White Candle. The flowers are tubular, with 5 distinct petals and is about 5-7 cm long. The calyx cups that hold the flowers are also white, which is an unusual feature in flowering plants.
After pollination, the flowers produce small seed capsules that contain smooth, hairless seeds.
Gardening Tips
White Candle plants need good sunlight, but they can thrive well in filtered sunlight. Regular watering and fertilization is needed during spring and summer months.
Pruning the plant can help keep it bushy and beautiful. Since the plant flowers almost throughout the year, they are good for butterfly gardens and parks attracting pollinators like small birds, bees, insects, and butterflies.
Uses of the White Candle Plant
These plants have been used in traditional herbal medicine in the treatment of cough, cold, respiratory infections, stomach ailments, food poisoning, and inflammations.
Parts of the plant are used in ceremonies and rituals in some regions of Africa. The leaves of White Candle plant are used for making a dye, and the wood is used for making small implements.
Though the plant is very easy to grow and maintain, they are now facing extinction due to deforestation and urbanization. Efforts are under way to conserve this plant and numerous other native species that are becoming rare these days.
Propagation is through seeds and stem cuttings.
Photographed at: Cambridge butterfly conservatory, Ontario, Canada
