Common Rue vs Mérida Brocket

Ruta graveolens compared with Mazama bricenii

Key Differences

• Common Rue is Not Evaluated while Mérida Brocket is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Rue	Mérida Brocket
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Rutaceae	Cervidae (Deer)
Genus	Ruta	Mazama
Species	Ruta graveolens	Mazama bricenii

Conservation Status

Common Rue

NE — Not Evaluated

Mérida Brocket

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Rue	Mérida Brocket
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Rue

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan, Taiwan), Europe (18 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador).

Mérida Brocket

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Venezuela. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Rue

<em>Ruta graveolens</em>, commonly known as common rue or herb-of-grace, is an aromatic, evergreen subshrub in the family Rutaceae. Native to the Balkan Peninsula and southwestern Europe, the species has been widely cultivated and naturalized across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia for centuries. It typically grows in dry, rocky, well-drained soils in sunny positions, and is commonly found in gardens, roadsides, waste ground, and limestone outcrops. The plant produces small yellow-green flowers in dense, flat-topped clusters and distinctive blue-green, strongly aromatic compound leaves containing volatile oils. Common rue has a long history of medicinal and culinary use in Mediterranean cultures, though its essential oils can cause photosensitive skin reactions. The species is not currently evaluated on the IUCN Red List, reflecting limited formal assessment rather than documented threat. It is a hardy plant tolerant of poor soils and drought conditions once established. Pollination is typically carried out by insects attracted to the small but accessible flowers. The plant produces small, lobed seed capsules dispersed primarily by wind and gravity. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body measurements, and detailed dietary interactions remain poorly documented in standardized ecological databases for this species.