Commelina
953105
200178448
2008-03-22T23:25:51Z
Djlayton4
136813
subfamily and tribe
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Commelina''
| image = Two-blue-petals bgiu 02.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''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).
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Commelinales]]
| familia = [[Commelinaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Commelinoideae]]
| tribus = [[Commelineae]]
| genus = '''''Commelina'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Selected [[Species]]
| subdivision =*''[[Commelina benghalensis]]''
*''[[Commelina caroliniana]]''
*''[[Commelina communis]]''
*''[[Commelina cyanea]]''
*''[[Commelina diffusa]]''
*''[[Commelina erecta]]''
*''[[Commelina sellowiana]]''
*''[[Commelina tuberosa]]''
*''[[Commelina virginica]]''
}}
'''''Commelina''''' is a genus of approximately 170 species<ref name=flora>{{Citation| last =Faden| first =Robert | contribution =Commelina| year =2006| title =Flora of North America online| editor-last =Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+| editor-first =| volume =22| pages =| contribution-url =http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=107770| place=New York & Oxford| publisher =Oxford University Press| accessdate =[[2007-21-06]]}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{citation| last=Acevedo-Rodriguez| first=Pedro; Strong, Mark T.| journal=Contributions of the United States National Herbarium| title=Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands| volume=52| pages=157-158| year=2005}}</ref> The Swedish taxonomist [[Carl Linnaeus]] of the 18th century named the genus after the two Dutch botanists [[Jan Commelijn]] and his nephew and Kaspar, each representing one of the showy petals of ''[[Commelina communis]]''.<ref name=flora/> A third brother who was not well known for his work is represented by the small white petal.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
The dayflowers are [[herb]]s that may be either perennial or annual. They are characterised by their [[zygomorphic]] flowers and by the involucral [[bract]]s called [[spathe]]s that surround the flower stalks.<ref name=chinaflora>{{Citation| last =Hong| first =Deyuan; DeFillipps, Robert A.| contribution =Commelina diffusa | year =2000| title =Flora of China| editor-last =Wu| editor-first =Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y.| volume =24| pages =35| place=Beijing| publisher =Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press| contribution-url =http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=107770| accessdate =[[2007-21-06]]}}</ref> These spathes are often filled with a mucilaginous liquid. Each spathe houses either 1 or 2 scorpioid [[cyme]]s, with the upper cyme being either vestigial or bearing 1 to several male flowers, and the lower cyme bearing several flowers. All members of the genus have alternate leaves.<ref name=flora/>
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]]<ref name=flora/>. It grows happily in fairly urban environments, often colonizing neglected gardens. It can be seen growing among garden [[Vinca|periwinkle]] plants, perhaps because the superficial similarity of their [[Plant stem|stems]] and [[Leaf|leaves]] makes it harder to weed out.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
Several species, such as ''Commelina benghalensis'', are eaten as a [[leaf vegetable]] in [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Africa]].<ref name=Pakistan>{{Citation| last =Qaiser| first=M.; Jafri, S.M.H.| contribution =Commelina benghalensis| year =1975| title =Flora of Pakistan| editor-last =Ali| editor-first =S.I.; Qaiser, M.| volume =84| pages =10| contribution-url =http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=222000036| place=St. Louis| publisher =University of Karachi & Missouri Botanical Garden}}</ref>
''[[Commelina cyanea]]'', known as Native Wandering Jew or Scurvy Weed, is a native to eastern Australia and easy to grow substitute for the introduced weed Wandering Jew (''[[Tradescantia fluminensis]]'').
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Commelinaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[de:Tagblumen]]
[[es:Commelina]]
[[he:קומלינה]]
[[ja:ツユクサ]]
[[pt:Commelina]]
[[vi:Chi Thài lài]]
[[to:Mohuku vai]]