Commelina virginica L.

Virginia dayflower (en), Comméline de Virginie (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Commelinales > Commelinaceae > Commelina

Characteristics

Herbs, perennial. Roots: rhizomes present. Stems erect to ascending, to 1 m. Leaves spirally arranged; leaf sheaths with red hairs at summit; blade lanceolate-elliptic to lanceolate-oblong, 6--20 ´ 1--5 cm, apex acuminate. Inflorescences: distal cyme vestigial, included (very rarely 1-flowered and exserted); spathes clustered, subsessile, funnelform, 1.5--3.5 ´ 1.2--2 cm, margins connate basally, glabrous (rarely puberulent). Flowers bisexual (rarely staminate); petals all pale blue, proximal one smaller; staminodes 3; antherodes entirely yellow, cruciform. Capsules 3-locular, 2-valved, (5.5--)6--9 ´ 3--6 mm. Seeds 5, brown, (2.4--)3--5(--6) ´ 2.4--3.1 mm, smooth with a few, shallow, irregular depressions, farinose. n = 30.
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Rhizomatous perennial; stem stout, erect or nearly so, to 12 dm, often widely branched; lf-blades lanceolate, long-acuminate, scabrous above, glabrous or finely hairy beneath, the main ones 10–20 × 2.5–5 cm; sheaths pilose-ciliate with red-brown hairs 2–5 mm, not prolonged into distinct auricles; spathes usually clustered toward the summit, sessile or short-peduncled, 2–3(–3.5) cm, nearly as wide when folded, the nerves connected by numerous cross-veins, the margins connate in the lower third; lower pet blue, scarcely reduced; fr 3-locular, the lower locules each 2-seeded, the upper one 1-seeded; 2n=60. Moist or wet woods; N.J. to Fla., w. to Ill., Kans., Okla., and Tex. (C. hirtella)
A herb.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.15
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) 0.3
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Wet places, especially swamps, river and stream banks, ditches, and bottomlands in shade or full sun.
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It is a temperate plant.
Light 3-7
Soil humidity 2-5
Soil texture 3-5
Soil acidity 2-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-9

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible leaves roots tubers
Therapeutic use Diuretic (unspecified), Nerves (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Fever (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 37
Germination temperacture (C°) 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Commelina virginica leaf picture by Sharon Allen (cc-by-sa)
Commelina virginica leaf picture by Melissa Melissa Keneely (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Commelina virginica flower picture by Melissa Melissa Keneely (cc-by-sa)
Commelina virginica flower picture by Melissa Melissa Keneely (cc-by-sa)
Commelina virginica flower picture by Bentley Reynolds (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Commelina virginica world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Georgia, Japan, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:172418-1
WFO ID wfo-0000361399
COL ID XFV6
BDTFX ID 84602
INPN ID 611093
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Commelina auriculata Commelina hirtella Commelina truncata Commelina virginica Allotria scabra Commelina longifolia Commelina caerulea Commelina deficiens Commelina virginica var. latifolia