896.000 Commelina L.

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs. Underground stolons sometimes bearing cleistogamous flowers. Flowers in one or two 1-6-flowered cymes enclosed in a spathe. Upper cyme 1-(-3)-flowered, usually male, exserted on a long peduncle, sometimes rudimentary or 0. Lower cyme included, borne on a short peduncle; flowers 2-6, all bisexual or some male, just exserted at flowering time. Flowers open in morning, soon deliquescent. Petals 3, free; upper 2 flat, variously coloured, the lower reduced, often colourless. Stamens 3, lower fertile, upper 3 staminodes, reduced. Ovary (2-)3-locular. Fruit a capsule.

Derivation of name: Named after Kaspar (1667-1731) and Johann (1629-1698) Commelin, Dutch botanists.

Worldwide: c. 170 species in tropical and warm regions

Malawi: 21 taxa.

Commelina schweinfurthii subsp. ceciliae

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
africana L.N,C,SDescription, Image
aspera Benth. var. aspera Description
aspera Benth. var. opulens (C.B.Clarke) Faden?
aurantiiflora Faden & Raynsford
benghalensis L.N,C,SDescription, Image
bracteosa Hassk.
diffusa Burm. f. subsp. diffusa N,C,SDescription, Image
eckloniana KunthDescription, Image
erecta L.
foliacea Chiov. subsp. amplexicaulis Faden
foliacea Chiov. subsp. foliacea
forskaolii VahlDescription, Image
grossa C.B. Clarke
kituloensis FadenN
neurophylla C.B. ClarkeN(other?)Description, Image
nigritana Benth. var. nigritana
nyasensis C.B. Clarke
petersii Hassk.
schweinfurthii C.B.Clarke subsp. ceciliae (C.B. Clarke) FadenN,C,SDescription, Image
subulata RothN,C,SDescription, Image
zambesica C.B.Clarke

Other sources of information about Commelina:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Commelina
Flora of Caprivi: Commelina
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Commelina
Flora of Mozambique: Commelina
Flora of Zambia: Commelina
Flora of Zimbabwe: Commelina

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Commelina
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Commelina
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Commelina
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Commelina
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Commelina
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Commelina
JSTOR Plant Science: Commelina
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Commelina
Plants of the World Online: Commelina
Tropicos: Commelina
Wikipedia: Commelina

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Commelina.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=315, retrieved 28 March 2024

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