Commelina diffusa |
Commelina diffusa var. gigas |
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climbing dayflower, spreading dayflower |
climbing dayflower |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial or annual, spreading. | Herbs, perennial, robust, spreading, sometimes scrambling in shrubs. | ||||
Stems | decumbent to scandent. |
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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 narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, 6–14 × 1–3.3 cm, apex acuminate. |
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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 exserted, 1–3-flowered; proximal cyme 2–5-flowered; spathes pedunculate, falcate, 2.3–4 × 0.5–1.1 cm, apex acuminate; peduncles 1–2(–4) 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. |
blue; medial stamen anther connective without dark band. |
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Capsules | 3-locular, 2-valved, 4–6.3 mm. |
3-locular, 2-valved. |
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Seeds | 5 (or less through abortion), brown, 2–2.8(–3.2) × 1.4–1.8 mm, deeply reticulate. |
typically only 1–2 developing, dark brown, 2.1–2.8 mm, deeply reticulate. |
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2n | = 90. |
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Commelina diffusa |
Commelina diffusa var. gigas |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–fall (perhaps all year round). | |||||
Habitat | Hammocks, streamsides, ditches, cypress swamps, wet woods, and lake shores | |||||
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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FL; Asia [Introduced in North America] |
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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.) |
Commelina diffusa is a very variable species throughout its vast range. I have not been able to match C. diffusa var. gigas with specific herbarium specimens from elsewhere. It probably arrived as an introduction instead of arising from diploid C. diffusa through in situ autopolyploidy. (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 > Commelina diffusa | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | C. gigas | |||||
Name authority | Burman f.: Flora Indica. nec non Prodromus Florae Capensis 18, plate 7, fig. 2. (1768) | (Small) Faden: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 80: 213. (1993) | ||||
Web links |