sandhills wild petunia, Ruellia ciliosa

This relatively short Ruellia is a puzzle. Some would call it Ruellia caroliniense, ssp. ciliosa. Others would include it in R. humilis. Wunderlin and Hansen in Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida prefer R. ciliosa. We will go with that last opinion only because it provides an excuse for another image. And a reminder of what a nice day that was in the Everglades. It was hard to give it up. This shot was taken immediate before I started shooting the sunset. Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co FL, 1/25/13. Acanthus family, Acanthaceae.