Commelina diffusa |
Commelina dianthifolia |
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climbing dayflower, spreading dayflower |
bird-bill dayflower |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial or annual, spreading. | Herbs, perennial, unbranched to usually sparsely branched. | ||||
Roots | tuberous. |
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Stems | decumbent to scandent. |
erect to ascending. |
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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. |
blade linear to linear-lanceolate, 4–15 × 0.4–1 cm, apex acuminate, glabrous to puberulent. |
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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. |
distal cyme usually 1-flowered, exserted; spathes solitary, green, often suffused and/or striped with purple, pedunculate, falcate or not, 2.5–8 × 0.7–1.7 cm, margins distinct, scabrous, not ciliate, apex acuminate, glabrous to puberulent; peduncles 1.5–9.5 cm. |
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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. |
bisexual and staminate; pedicels puberulent; petals dark blue, proximal petal somewhat smaller; staminodes 3; antherodes yellow, cruciform. |
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Capsules | 3-locular, 2-valved, 4–6.3 mm. |
3-locular, 2-valved, 5–6 mm, apiculate. |
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Seeds | 5 (or less through abortion), brown, 2–2.8(–3.2) × 1.4–1.8 mm, deeply reticulate. |
5, brown, 2.2–2.7 × 1.7–2.2 mm, rugose, pitted. |
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Commelina diffusa |
Commelina dianthifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |||||
Habitat | Rocky soils | |||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; DC; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; OH; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA; Pantropical
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AZ; CO; NM; TX; Mexico
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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.) |
Two varieties have been recognized: Commelina dianthifolia var. dianthifolia (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), with the spathes gradually tapering into a long, acuminate apex, and C. dianthifolia var. longispatha (Torrey) Brashier (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico), with the spathes abruptly narrowed below the middle into a long, attentuate tip (C. K. Brashier 1966). Although most U.S. specimens are readily separable into these taxa, their ranges and ecologies overlap very broadly in Arizona and New Mexico. Until their variation in Mexico is studied, I can see no useful purpose in maintaining these varieties. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. | ||||
Parent taxa | Commelinaceae > Commelina | Commelinaceae > Commelina | ||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Burman f.: Flora Indica. nec non Prodromus Florae Capensis 18, plate 7, fig. 2. (1768) | Delile: in P. J. Redoute, Les Liliacees...a Paris 7(65): plate 390. (1812) | ||||
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