Flora of North America species comparison

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Commelina diffusa

climbing dayflower, spreading dayflower
Habit Herbs, perennial or annual, spreading.
Stems

decumbent to scandent.
Leaves

blade narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, lanceolate-elliptic or ovate, 1.5–14 × 0.5–3.3 cm, margins scabrous, apex acute to acuminate, glabrous.
Inflorescences

distal cyme 1–several-flowered, usually exserted;

spathes solitary, bright green, without contrasting veins, pedunculate, usually distinctly falcate, (0.5–)0.8–4 × 0.4–1.2(–1.4) cm, margins distinct, glabrous or scabrous, sometimes also sparsely ciliate or ciliolate basally, apex usually acuminate, usually glabrous or nearly so;

peduncles 0.5–2(–4) cm.
Flowers

bisexual and staminate;

petals all blue (rarely all lavender), proximal petal smaller;

medial stamen anther connective usually with transverse band of violet;

staminodes 2–3;

antherodes yellow, medial often absent or vestigial, cruciform.
Capsules

3-locular, 2-valved, 4–6.3 mm.
Seeds

5 (or less through abortion), brown, 2–2.8(–3.2) × 1.4–1.8 mm, deeply reticulate.

Commelina diffusa
Distribution
map from FNA
AL; AR; DC; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; OH; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA; Pantropical
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The name Commelina nudiflora Linnaeus has been incorrectly used for this species.

Varieties 4 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Commelinaceae > Commelina
Sibling taxa
C. benghalensis, C. caroliniana, C. communis, C. dianthifolia, C. erecta, C. forskaolii, C. gambiae, C. virginica
Subordinate taxa
C. diffusa var. diffusa, C. diffusa var. gigas
Key
1. Leaf blades 1.5–5(–8) × 0.5–1(–2.2) cm; medial anther connective with broad transverse violet band; capsules 5-seeded (occasionally less, by abortion)
var. diffusa
1. Leaf blades 6–14 × 1–3.3 cm; medial anther connective without dark band; capsules typically 1–2-seeded
var. gigas
Name authority Burman f.: Flora Indica. nec non Prodromus Florae Capensis 18, plate 7, fig. 2. (1768)
Source FNA vol. 22. Treatment author: Robert B. Faden.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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