Page author: Don Knoke
Commelina communis
Asiatic dayflower
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Widely introduced in eastern United States; occasional in Washington.

Habitat: Weed of waste places, field edges and marshes.

Flowers: July - September

Origin: Introduced

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Bees, flies

Description:
General:

Herbaceous annuals, erect to decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes, the stems diffusely branched.

Leaves:

Leaves alternate, narrowly lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, 5-12 cm. long and 1-4 cm. wide, entire, pointed.

Flowers:

Inflorescence of 1-2 terminal cymes enclosed in a large bract; bract green, whitish basally, with contrasting dark green veins, 1.5-3 cm. long and 0.8-1.3 cm. wide, the margins scabrous, on a peduncle 0.8-3.5 cm. long; flowers usually perfect, the lower petal white, much smaller than the upper 2, which are blue to purplish-blue; stamen 6, the lower three fertile, the upper 3 sterile.

Fruits:

Capsules 2-celled, 4.5-8 mm. long.

Accepted Name:
Commelina communis L.
Publication: Sp. Pl. 1: 40. 1753.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Commelina communis L. var. communis
Commelina willdenowii Kunth
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Commelina communis in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Commelina communis checklist entry

OregonFlora: Commelina communis information

E-Flora BC: Commelina communis atlas page

CalPhotos: Commelina communis photos

3 photographs:
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