Commelina is a genus of approximately 170 species[2] commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae.[3] 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.[2]
Commelina
Commelina communis flower with typical arrangement of floral parts: 3 staminodes are present above, 3 fertile stamens below with the central one differing in size and form, and a single style emerging between them (curved in this species).
Athyrocarpus Schltdl. ex Benth. 1883 not Schltdl. 1855 nor Schltdl. ex Hassk. 1866
Commelinopsis Pichon
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.[4] 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.[2]
Floral diagram of a cyme of Commelina coelestis from Eichler's 1875 "Blütendiagramme"
Plants in the genus are perennial or annual herbs with roots that are usually fibrous or rarely tuberous or rhizomatous. The leaves are distichous (i.e. 2-ranked) or spirally arranged with blades that either lack or have a petiole. The ptyxis, or the way the leaf is folded in the bud, is either involute (i.e. having inrolled margins) or supervolute.[2][6]
The inflorescences are terminal, meaning the stem terminates with an inflorescence, and often leaf opposed, meaning it emerges at the node with a leaf of a new axillary stem. The inflorescence is composed of one or two cincinni, also called scorpioid cymes, which are monochasia (i.e. cymes with a single branched main false axis) in which the lateral branches arise alternately on opposite sides of the false axis. The distal cincinnus may either be vestigial or contain one to several flowers that are typically male. The proximal cyme is always present and is multi-flowered. The cincinni are enclosed in a folded spathe, a modified leaf, which is often filled with a mucilaginous liquid. The spathe may either have completely distinct margins or they may be fused to varying degrees at the basal end.[2][6]
The flowers are borne on pedicels and are strongly zygomorphic, meaning there is only a single plane of symmetry. Bracteoles occasionally subtend the pedicels, but they are usually absent. The flowers are either bisexual or male. There are three unequal sepals, which may either be free or the two lateral ones may be fused. The petals are free and unequal with the two upper ones being larger and clawed while the lower petal is typically reduced and often differs in colour from the other two. Flower colour is most typically blue, but lilac, lavender, yellow, peach, apricot and white also occur. There are three stamens and two to three staminodes, or infertile stamens, all of which have free, glabrous filaments. The staminodes occur posteriorly and have antherodes with four to six lobes. The stamens are anterior and are longer than the staminodes. The medial stamen differs in size and form from the lateral two, and when a central staminode is present it also differs from the other staminodes. The ovaries are bi- or trilocular and one to two ovules is present per locule.[2][6]
The fruit is a capsule that is typically bi- or trilocular, but in rare cases may be unilocular, and it is bi- or trivalved. The locules may contain one or two seeds, or no seed at all. The seeds are uniseriate (i.e. arranged in a single row), have a linear hilum and a lateral embryotega.[6]
^ abcdefgFaden, Robert (2006), "Commelina", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+ (ed.), Flora of North America online, vol. 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
^Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro; Strong, Mark T. (2005), "Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands", Contributions of the United States National Herbarium, 52: 157–158{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Hong, Deyuan; DeFillipps, Robert A. (2000), "Commelina diffusa", in Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y. (ed.), Flora of China, vol. 24, Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, p. 35{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Qaiser, M.; Jafri, S.M.H. (1975), "Commelina benghalensis", in Ali, S.I.; Qaiser, M. (ed.), Flora of Pakistan, vol. 84, St. Louis: University of Karachi & Missouri Botanical Garden, p. 10{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abcdFaden, Robert (1998), "Commelina", in Kubitzki, K. (ed.), The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, vol. 4, Berlin: Springer, p. 126
December 15, 2023
commelina, genus, approximately, species, commonly, called, dayflowers, short, lives, their, flowers, they, less, often, known, widow, tears, largest, genus, family, ceae, swedish, taxonomist, carl, linnaeus, 18th, century, named, genus, after, dutch, botanist. Commelina is a genus of approximately 170 species 2 commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers They are less often known as widow s tears It is by far the largest genus of its family Commelinaceae 3 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 2 CommelinaCommelina communis flower with typical arrangement of floral parts 3 staminodes are present above 3 fertile stamens below with the central one differing in size and form and a single style emerging between them curved in this species Scientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade MonocotsClade CommelinidsOrder CommelinalesFamily CommelinaceaeTribe CommelineaeGenus CommelinaL Type speciesCommelina communisL SpeciesSee List of Commelina speciesSynonyms 1 Erxlebia Medik Hedwigia Medik Lechea Lour Ananthopus Raf Allotria Raf Dirtea Raf Eudipetala Raf Larnalles Raf Nephralles Raf Ovidia Raf Allosperma Raf Isanthina Rchb ex Steud Heterocarpus Wight Disecocarpus Hassk Omphalotheca Hassk Phaeosphaerion Hassk Spathodithyros Hassk Trithyrocarpus Hassk Athyrocarpus Schltdl ex Benth 1883 not Schltdl 1855 nor Schltdl ex Hassk 1866 Commelinopsis PichonThe 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 4 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 2 The Asiatic dayflower Commelina communis is probably the best known species in the West It is a common weed in parts of Europe and throughout eastern North America 2 Several species such as Commelina benghalensis are eaten as a leaf vegetable in Southeast Asia and Africa 5 Description edit nbsp Floral diagram of a cyme of Commelina coelestis from Eichler s 1875 Blutendiagramme Plants in the genus are perennial or annual herbs with roots that are usually fibrous or rarely tuberous or rhizomatous The leaves are distichous i e 2 ranked or spirally arranged with blades that either lack or have a petiole The ptyxis or the way the leaf is folded in the bud is either involute i e having inrolled margins or supervolute 2 6 The inflorescences are terminal meaning the stem terminates with an inflorescence and often leaf opposed meaning it emerges at the node with a leaf of a new axillary stem The inflorescence is composed of one or two cincinni also called scorpioid cymes which are monochasia i e cymes with a single branched main false axis in which the lateral branches arise alternately on opposite sides of the false axis The distal cincinnus may either be vestigial or contain one to several flowers that are typically male The proximal cyme is always present and is multi flowered The cincinni are enclosed in a folded spathe a modified leaf which is often filled with a mucilaginous liquid The spathe may either have completely distinct margins or they may be fused to varying degrees at the basal end 2 6 The flowers are borne on pedicels and are strongly zygomorphic meaning there is only a single plane of symmetry Bracteoles occasionally subtend the pedicels but they are usually absent The flowers are either bisexual or male There are three unequal sepals which may either be free or the two lateral ones may be fused The petals are free and unequal with the two upper ones being larger and clawed while the lower petal is typically reduced and often differs in colour from the other two Flower colour is most typically blue but lilac lavender yellow peach apricot and white also occur There are three stamens and two to three staminodes or infertile stamens all of which have free glabrous filaments The staminodes occur posteriorly and have antherodes with four to six lobes The stamens are anterior and are longer than the staminodes The medial stamen differs in size and form from the lateral two and when a central staminode is present it also differs from the other staminodes The ovaries are bi or trilocular and one to two ovules is present per locule 2 6 The fruit is a capsule that is typically bi or trilocular but in rare cases may be unilocular and it is bi or trivalved The locules may contain one or two seeds or no seed at all The seeds are uniseriate i e arranged in a single row have a linear hilum and a lateral embryotega 6 References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commelina nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Commelina Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families a b c d e f g Faden Robert 2006 Commelina in Flora of North America Editorial Committee eds 1993 ed Flora of North America online vol 22 New York amp Oxford Oxford University Press a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint numeric names editors list link Acevedo Rodriguez Pedro Strong Mark T 2005 Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Contributions of the United States National Herbarium 52 157 158 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Hong Deyuan DeFillipps Robert A 2000 Commelina diffusa in Wu Z Y Raven P H Hong D Y ed Flora of China vol 24 Beijing Science Press St Louis Missouri Botanical Garden Press p 35 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Qaiser M Jafri S M H 1975 Commelina benghalensis in Ali S I Qaiser M ed Flora of Pakistan vol 84 St Louis University of Karachi amp Missouri Botanical Garden p 10 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link a b c d Faden Robert 1998 Commelina in Kubitzki K ed The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants vol 4 Berlin Springer p 126 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Commelina amp oldid 1188950847, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
