OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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.

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_coco3_001_lvd

        

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_coco3_005_lvd

        

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

Ben Geer Keys    bgk356_a

July        

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm220705_8898

July    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm220715_9126

July    Greenville County    SC

Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm220715_9128

July    Greenville County    SC

Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve

Flowers throughout this particular patch had an unusual white stripe.

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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.

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm080818_001

August    Greenville County    SC

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm190831_1081

August    Greenville County    SC

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm190831_1084

August    Greenville County    SC

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_communis_ludens

August        

Var. communis and var. ludens are sometimes distinguished...

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm130927_516

September    Buncombe County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

Gill Newberry    gn10_c_communis_dayflower

October        

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

JK Marlow    jkm221004_0213

October    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

Fried! but still blooming...

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

Julia Scher, Federal Noxious Weeds Disseminules, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org    bug_5376379

Month Unknown        

Seeds rugose foveate-reticulate, per Weakley's Flora (2015).

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

Bruce Ackley, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org    bug_5436572

Month Unknown        

image of Commelina communis, Asiatic Dayflower, Common Dayflower

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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)

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

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)


Invasive?

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!



 


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