Commelina communis
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Photo courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Commelina communis |
| Common name: | Asiatic dayflower |
| Group: | monocot |
| Family: | Commelinaceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | annual |
| Origin: | introduced (invasive in some areas) |
| Plant height: | 6 - 12", stems can grow to 32" |
| Foliage: | leaves narrowly oval, 2 - 4-3/4" |
| Flower: | bright blue solitary flowers, 1/2" wide, subtended by round bract, margins not fused; third (lower) petal small and white. |
| Habitat: | roadsides, waste places |
| Range in New Jersey: | statewide |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | Flowers open for a few hours early in the day, then wilt. Asian plant, weedy and noxious in some areas. Appears to have 2 petals but in reality there are three; the third is a tiny white structure that looks rather like a beard, beneath the rest of the flower. Commelina, after Dutch botanists Johan & Caspar Commelin. |