Plantsnap – Identify Plants, Trees, Mushrooms With An App

Carolina dayflower (Commelina caroliniana)

Description

Commelina caroliniana, sometimes known as the Carolina dayflower, is an herbaceous plant in the dayflower family native to India and Bangladesh. Both the scientific name and the common name are misleading as the plant was described based on specimens found in the southeastern United States before it was known that the plant had been introduced from India. It was most likely introduced to South Carolina in the late 17th century along with rice seed from India. Its flowers emerge from summer to fall and rarely into the winter. Commelina caroliniana is an annual herb with a diffusely spreading growth habit. It will readily root at the nodes when they come into contact with the soil. The stems are decumbent (i.e. lying on the ground with rising tips) to scandent (i.e. climbing). The glabrous (i.e. hairless) leaves have blades that are lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic or lanceolate-oblong in shape, measuring 2.5 to 10.5 cm in length by 0.7 to 2.4 cm in width. The leaf margins are scabrous (i.e. with rough projections), while the apex is acute to acuminate in outline.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class: Liliopsida

          • Order: Commelinales

            • Family: Commelinaceae

              • Genus: Commelina