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dayflowers
Commelina
Commelina is a genus of approximately 208 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers, and less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae. The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus of the 18th century named the genus after the two Dutch botanists Jan Commelijn and his nephew Caspar, each representing one of the showy petals of Commelina communis.
The dayflowers are herbs that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their zygomorphic flowers and by the involucral bracts called spathes that surround the flower stalks. These spathes are often filled with a mucilaginous liquid. Each spathe houses either one or two scorpioid cymes, with the upper cyme being either vestigial or bearing from one to several typically male flowers, and the lower cyme bearing several flowers. All members of the genus have alternate leaves.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Asiatic dayflower
speciesCommelina communis
whitemouth dayflower
speciesCommelina erecta
Scrambling Dayflower
speciesCommelina diffusa
Benghal Dayflower
speciesCommelina benghalensis
Virginia Dayflower
speciesCommelina virginica
scurvy weed
speciesCommelina cyanea
African Yellow Dayflower
speciesCommelina africana
Tuberous Dayflower
speciesCommelina tuberosa
birdbill dayflower
speciesCommelina dianthifolia
Commelina auriculata
speciesCommelina auriculata
Rat's-ear
speciesCommelina forskaolii
Swamp Dayflower
speciesCommelina paludosa
Commelina robusta
speciesCommelina robusta
Scurvy Grass
speciesCommelina ensifolia
Queensland wandering sailor
speciesCommelina lanceolata
Wavy-Leaf Dayflower
speciesCommelina undulata
Annual Blue Dayflower
speciesCommelina eckloniana
Livingston's Dayflower
speciesCommelina livingstonii
Flat-leafed Dayflower
speciesCommelina platyphylla
African Dayflower
speciesCommelina gambiae
Annual Yellow Dayflower
speciesCommelina subulata
Commelina schomburgkiana
speciesCommelina schomburgkiana
Commelina scabra
speciesCommelina scabra
Rusty Dayflower
speciesCommelina rufipes
Vestured Dayflower
speciesCommelina vestita
Commelina petersii
speciesCommelina petersii
Malagasy Dayflower
speciesCommelina madagascarica
Indian dayflower
speciesCommelina caroliniana
Gorgeous Dayflower
speciesCommelina bella
Commelina fasciculata
speciesCommelina fasciculata
Grass-leafed Dayflower
speciesCommelina agrostophylla
Commelina reptans
speciesCommelina reptans
Commelina maculata
speciesCommelina maculata
Commelina schweinfurthii
speciesCommelina schweinfurthii
Shy Dayflower
speciesCommelina modesta
Pale-flowered Dayflower
speciesCommelina pallida
Commelina suffruticosa
speciesCommelina suffruticosa
Zambezia Dayflower
speciesCommelina zambesica
Elliptic Dayflower
speciesCommelina elliptica
Commelina albescens
speciesCommelina albescens
Commelina quitensis
speciesCommelina quitensis
Commelina foliacea
speciesCommelina foliacea
Commelina latifolia
speciesCommelina latifolia
Commelina paleata
speciesCommelina paleata
Commelina capitata
speciesCommelina capitata
Commelina rebmanii
speciesCommelina rebmanii
Commelina nivea
speciesCommelina nivea
Smooth-fruited Dayflower
speciesCommelina leiocarpa
Commelina attenuata
speciesCommelina attenuata
Commelina imberbis
speciesCommelina imberbis
Commelina longifolia
speciesCommelina longifolia
Commelina nigritana
speciesCommelina nigritana
Angolan Dayflower
speciesCommelina welwitschii
Commelina bracteosa
speciesCommelina bracteosa
Commelina appendiculata
speciesCommelina appendiculata
Sugar's Dayflower
speciesCommelina sugariae
Commelina reticulata
speciesCommelina reticulata
Huilan dayflower
speciesCommelina huillensis
Texcoco Dayflower
speciesCommelina texcocana
Riverine Dayflower
speciesCommelina fluviatilis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Commelina in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52893.