Asiatic DayflowerCommelina communis
Classified as an invasive weed
From Missouri Plants
Stems - Erect to variously ascending, internodes glabrous, somewhat pubescent and often rooting at nodes, herbaceous.
Leaves - Alternate, entire, typically glabrous to scabrous above, glaucous below, to +10cm long, +3cm wide, lanceolate. Base of blade forming a sheath(ocrea) around stem.
Inflorescence - Axillary flowers emerging from folded bract (spathe). Spathe to 3cm long, green, margins separate all the way to the base.
Flowers - Corolla of 3 petals. Upper two petals blue-purple, to 15mm long. Lower petal white, small, to 5mm long. Fertile stamens 3. Staminodes 3, with false anthers. False anthers yellow with brownish center.
Flowering - May - October.
Habitat - Moist ground in waste places, lawns, disturbed sites, roadsides, railroads.
Origin - Native to Asia.
Other info. - The genus name is in commemoration of two Dutch botanists, Jan and Kaspar Commelin, who had a brother who died at an early age and contributed nothing to botany. The three petals of the flower represent these three brothers.
