Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Commelinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina virginica
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Commelina from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina virginica
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Commelina virginica
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-001:
Commelina virginica FAMILY Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Commelina virginica
COMMON NAME:
Virginia 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_covi3_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_covi3_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm180405_1052
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
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JK Marlow jkm170502_458
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Leaves lanceolate, 4-8" long, 1-2" wide, leaf bases sheathing the stem, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm120617_027
June Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm120617_029
June Spartanburg County SC
Sheath margins noticeably hairy with coarse reddish hairs, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120617_947
June Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180601_2657
June Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Coarse herbaceous perennial with erect stems 10-36" tall, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm190614_9172
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm190614_9173
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm130726_472
July Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_commelina_virginica_2
July
Flowers from within greenish spathes, usually in a terminal cluster, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
Steve Marlow snm_1206vadayflower2
July Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
All petals blue, ephemeral, one slightly smaller than others, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_commelina_virginica
August
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JK Marlow jkm161013_920
October Greenville County SC
Cedar Falls Park
Numerous terminal spathes [easier to see here with the flowers gone], per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm161028_029b
October Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Commelina virginica
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Commelina virginica
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Commelina virginica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 038-01-001:
Commelina virginica
FAMILY
Commelinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Commelina virginica
359
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Bottomlands, swamp forests, tidal swamp forests, other moist to wet forests and forest edges, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain, uncommon in Piedmont, rare in Mountains
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!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p300
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p457
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p120
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p398
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p158
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p371
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p342
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p394
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p004
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