OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Commelinales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina erecta var. erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina erecta var. erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America

Commelina erecta var. angustifolia

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-002:

Commelina erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Commelina erecta var. angustifolia

 

COMMON NAME:
Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm220517_7919

May    Greenville County    SC

Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

John B. Nelson    jbn_135040519_3b5f71e7bc

July    Sumter County    SC

2 pale blue (rarely pink) petals up to 1" long & a smaller white lower petal, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4247

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

"Erect" appears to be an apt name...

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4250

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4253

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Leaves narrow, 2-6" long, with a white hairy sheath around stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4257

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Leaf sheaths prolonged upwards into auricles, ciliate with white hairs, per Weakley's Flora (2023).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4261

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

3 purple stamens, 3 yellow stamens (one with a larger butterfly-shaped anther), and a pistil, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4266

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4269

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Flowers subtended by folded heart-shaped spathe, its margins fused basally, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4270

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Individual flowers are shortlived, opening at sunrise and closing by midday, never to open again, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230706_4279

July    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230808_4836

August    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm230808_4838

August    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

Tim Spira    tps_cerecta_arabiamtn5

August        

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm200920_7268

September    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Larger leaves typically 3-6× as long as wide, per Weakley's Flora (2023).

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_commelina_erecta_6

September        

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm201002_7460

October    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm201002_7461

October    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

View from behind.

image of Commelina erecta var. erecta, Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_commelina_erecta

October        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina erecta var. erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina erecta var. erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Commelina erecta var. angustifolia

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-002:
Commelina erecta   FAMILY Commelinaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Commelina erecta var. angustifolia

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3120

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Dry openings and woodlands, especially in thin soil around rock outcrops, streambanks, riverbanks, mesic forests, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Piedmont & NC Coastal Plain, uncommon in Mountains & SC Coastal Plain (rare in GA Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Bilaterally symmetrical
3-merous
3 sepals, the lateral two partly united
3 petals, the upper two large and the lowest smaller
3 fertile stamens, 3 sterile stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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