Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Commelinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina communis
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Asiatic Dayflower from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina communis
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Commelina communis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Commelina communis
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Commelina communis var. communis
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Commelina communis var. ludens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-003:
Commelina communis FAMILY Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Commelina communis
COMMON NAME:
Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_coco3_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_coco3_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm250424_2776
April Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm250424_2777
April Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0305k_06
May Greenville County SC
Leaves lanceolate-ovate, 2-5" long, bases sheathing the stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk356_a
July
)
JK Marlow jkm220705_8898
July Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220715_9126
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220715_9128
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Flowers throughout this particular patch had a peculiar white stripe.
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4576
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Flowers subtended by folded heart-shaped spathe, its edges not joined, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4577
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Leaves with tubular sheaths that are 0.7-2.5cm long and have ciliate margins, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm080816_017
August Greenville County SC
Lower petal white and reduced, so the flower appears to be only 2 petals, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.
)
JK Marlow jkm080818_001
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190831_1081
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190831_1084
August Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_communis_ludens
August
Var. communis and var. ludens are sometimes distinguished...
)
Gill Newberry gn09_c_communis_var_luden
September
var. ludens has larger petals intense violet blue and sterile anthers w a brownish-purple spot, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm130927_516
September Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm130927_519
September Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruits 3-celled capsules: Two cells have 2 seeds each, the 3rd cell aborts, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Gill Newberry gn10_c_communis_dayflower
October
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0213
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Fried! but still blooming...
)
Julia Scher, Federal Noxious Weeds Disseminules, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org bug_5376379
Month Unknown
Seeds rugose foveate-reticulate, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5436572
Month Unknown
)
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org bug_9005097b
Month Unknown
Spathes generally pale toward peduncle, with contrasting dark green veins, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina communis
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina communis
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Commelina communis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Commelina communis
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Commelina communis var. communis
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Commelina communis var. ludens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-003:
Commelina communis
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Commelina communis
356
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Gardens, bottomlands, disturbed ground, and a common invader of rocky glades, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Old World
Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/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:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p040
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p092
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p040
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p398
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p158
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p014
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p371
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p341
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p393
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p004
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